An astounding 60% of physicians agree that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have detracted from patient care due to the burden of documentation and reporting.¹ EHRs were created to deliver a greater and more seamless flow of information within a digital healthcare infrastructure by providing more complete patient information to providers. While they were intended to make healthcare records more accessible, an unforeseen effect of EHR standardization has been the burden of documentation which often leads to provider burnout. Many healthcare providers are turning to medical scribes to alleviate the workload demand of the EHR which allows the physician to focus on patient care.
Incorporating any new staff member into a practice takes time and resources, especially if you are creating an entirely new role within your organization. Practices need to invest significant time to train each scribe, adjust workflows to accommodate the scribe, and ensure that each scribe and provider work well together. Scribes must be trained to prepare charts, document the natural conversation between provider and patient into medical terminology within the EHR, and perform various clerical duties in order to maximize production. Additionally, a CMSS certified scribe can assist with more advanced clinical duties and direct patient care tasks such as rooming patients, taking basic vitals, procedure prep, and entering CPOE.
Implementing a scribe program shouldn’t be a headache for healthcare administrators or providers who need support. Large healthcare organizations with many facilities must analyze each location, develop a detailed plan for selecting the providers, find qualified candidates, train the scribes on each specialty, provide EHR and provider documentation preferences… the list goes on and on.
At ProScribe, we understand that implementing a scribe program is a laborious process. We’ve been around the block and have worked with numerous major healthcare organizations, which is why we’ve created a tried and true system-wide scribe implementation program designed to simplify the process for major healthcare organizations. From recruitment and training, to onboarding and implementation, our dedicated team is here to help you every step along the way. In our experience, it takes about 6 weeks to find a qualified candidate, train the individual, and get them documenting on behalf of the provider.
Our mission to support healthcare providers goes far beyond scribe staffing. We partner with client administration to plan, coordinate, and implement a system-wide scribe program to ensure the success of each program. Additionally, we provide webinars, handouts, and personalized surveys to your providers and continually educate our scribes and your staff on best practices to ensure implementation is seamless. No matter the size of your healthcare organization, we take care of the logistics so you can focus on patient care.
Although EHRs have been widely disruptive for physicians, they were created to deliver more complete patient information to providers, which increases their ability to make well-informed treatment decisions. Needless to say, they are here to stay. We continue to develop solutions to offset the negative consequences on patient care and physician quality of life and are excited to share the knowledge and obstacles that we’ve encountered along the way.
We invite you to chat with our team to discuss how we can work together to regain control of your time, increase your productivity, and return to what you love to do – help your patients! Contact us at (888) 991-1773 or fill out a request form for more information about our medical scribe services.
Merritt Hawkins. 2016 Survey of America’s Physicians Practice Patterns and Perspectives. The Physicians Foundation, 2016, 2016 Survey of America’s Physicians Practice Patterns and Perspectives, www.physiciansfoundation.org/uploads/default/Biennial_Physician_Survey_2016.pdf.
