ScribeEMR
Many medical practices employ scribes to expedite note completion. Scribes can be medical assistants, LNAs, pre-med students, or nurses who are trained by the practice to write your notes. Certification is not required, but there are online courses available. Most scribes earn between $14 and $18 dollars per hour and receive benefits as well. It has been shown that in many situations, scribe use results in increased productivity. Non-financial benefits include improved patient satisfaction, and less stressful days for providers.
There are many online services that provide remote scribe services for as little at $13 per hour, using mobile applications to listen during a visit (no visuals involved!). These include services such as ScribeEMR and Augmedix and DeepScribe. The virtual scribe writes their note in your EHR during the encounter and the final note, ready for review and editing is often available shortly after the visit is finished.
ScribeEMR is an award-winning virtual scribe service that is described in detail by its CEO, Daya Shankar in the video. It has hundreds of users and is among the least expensive of the virtual scribe services available today – just $13 per hour. A provider is assigned a scribe who listens via an application during your visit, messages you with questions and writes your note in the EHR for your review and editing. By assigning a “dedicated” scribe to a provider – the scribe learns your preferences and this facilitates note completion. Depending on your specialty and scribe utilization, if you see one more patient per day post scribe deployment – the adoption is cost neutral to the practice. If you see several more patients per day, you will generate revenue via scribe utilization.
An end to “pajama time”
The need for physicians to complete office notes after hours has been called “pajama time” and is a major contributing factor to provider “burnout.” By using real or virtual scribes – one can eliminate “pajama time”, and physicians can leave work knowing there were “no notes left behind!
