Jan 19, 2023
Documentation that consumes physicians workdays has always been a source of frustration. Many struggle to balance documentation and patient care activities and end up spending massive amounts of time documenting care often cutting deeply into patient care time. Are you a physician fed up with the growing burden of electronic busywork generated by EHRs? Do you feel that paperwork and administrative burden is ruining your career as a physician? Then it's high time that you hire the medical scribes to provide you with the much needed documentation support. In addition to heavy documentation demands and administrative burden, the following are some of the signs that you need the help of scribes.
Do you feel that you are spending very less time with patients? And what do you think is to be blamed for these brief interactions? Well, if you feel bereft of genuine patient interactions it is clear that EHR documentation is the biggest culprit. Time and again studies also report that physicians spend twice as much time on EHR and desk work, as treating patients. Hence, incorporating a scribe into your team allows you to spend some quality time talking with patients, while the scribe documents the visit.
You spend a good amount of your after-hours time doing computer tasks. You either stay long past your shift, or come in on days off, or chart from your homes. Too much time spent at your computer, both during and outside of work hours can make it difficult to create a work-life balance. With a virtual scribe charts are completed in real-time. Hence, there is no question of spending time in the EHR at the end of each shift, or chart during out-of-office hours or bring home unfinished notes every day.
Spending long hours in front of the screens can take a toll on your eyes and lead to persistent eyestrain. This is because staring for long periods at your computer can make your eyes tired. Moreover, the countless mouse-clicks and keystrokes can worsen your carpel tunnel syndrome. Using a medical scribe to do your charting for patient visits helps provide relief from the endless scrolls, mouse clicks, keyboarding, and gazing at your screens.
The painful truth is the "pajama time" time spent documenting in the EHR is making it tough for you to find time for family and enjoy the things you love doing. Hiring a medical scribe can help you get more time back in your day. With a scribe to take over the charting responsibilities you need not worry about catching up on unfinished charts. You can get home early and spend some quality time with your loved ones.
Timely completion and signing of medical records is crucial. As per law, you are required to sign your notes within 30 days of the patient's visit. For all notes kept open beyond this time period you will be penalized, resulting in potential revenue loss. Are you finding it way too long to finish your notes? Then hiring a medical scribe is the best thing you can do to ensure that notes are closed in a timely manner.
You prefer to treat patients over the phone than in-person visits. Telephonic consultations can result in poor communication and documentation. Studies show that providing care through phone is not advisable as telephonic advice is poor when compared to clinic visits, with only about half of contacts being recorded. Poor documentation can result in substandard care too. With a scribe to assume the documentation responsibilities you can schedule more in-office visits. Effectively the scribe service pays for itself.
Are you starting to feel burned out, emotionally drained, or mentally exhausted? Yes, you most likely are as you spend hours at your computer entering data into the EHRs. Various studies have revealed that excessive EHR use adds up to physicians daily frustration levels. Hiring a scribe to take over the charting results in less time spent at the EHRs. And this means that you are less susceptible to burnout.
During patient visits you constantly stare at your computer screen and are keen on keying in crucial patient data, so much so you fail to make eye contact. With your eyes transfixed at the screen all you did was bid goodbye at the end of the visit. There was no emotion, no connection, and no empathy. Simply put, you don't even know how the patient looks like. Well, this problem could be solved by using a medical scribe to document patient visits. You can now engage in a face-to face conversation with your patients, without having to type notes at your computers.
If you are experiencing any of the above signs, one potential solution gaining popularity is the use of scribes. Well, are you ready to incorporate a scribe into your practice? If yes, get in touch with the medical scribing experts - Scribe4Me. We have a large pool of highly trained, certified scribes who can help you overcome the above challenges, all while staying focused on your patients and running an efficient practice. To find out if our medical scribing services can work for you, avail a free trial today.
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Thomas Kennedy
Haley Holmes
Documentation is an important daily clinical responsibility. In order to optimize patient care, physicians are always on the lookout for new ways to effectively and efficiently document patient visits.
The use of virtual medical scribes has become increasingly popular in the recent years, as medical practices across the country are on the constant lookout for ways to reduce clinical documentation overload, thereby improving overall productivity.
The clerical burden associated with EHR usage is attributed as the number one cause of physician burnout. We also know that physicians spend twice as much time on EHRs and other clerical tasks compared to the time providing patient care.
