Do Scribes Improve Workflow Efficiencies in ENT & Allergy Practices?

ENT & Allergy specialists provide comprehensive care spanning ear, nose, throat, audiology, asthma, allergy and immunology services. This could mean long work hours and a high patient load that paves the way for burnout. Also fueling this problem is the pressure on them to maintain meticulous documentation. On top of that, the outbreak of COVID-19 wreaked havoc in the ear, nose, and throat regions and today more patients are seeing ENT allergists fearing the long-term viral complications. Managing the influx of patients means handling paperwork that inundates much of an ENT and Allergist's day. By adding a medical scribe, the ENT and Allergy practice is better equipped to handle both patient and paperwork demands. Read on to learn more.

Why do ENT and Allergy specialists need scribes?

The rapidly changing healthcare environment along with the latest advancements in the field of ENT and Allergy has made workflow of an ENT and Allergy specialist to continuously evolve, necessitating greater time spent on non-clinical tasks like documentation and insurance requirements in the midst of busy clinic hours. We know that EHRs are notorious and require a dozen clicks to accomplish a simple task. This increased "Click burden" is a source of frustration for ENT and Allergy specialists, which can lead to stress and burnout. The use of medical scribes has emerged as a promising strategy to reduce the burden on physicians for data entry and documentation, while improving clinic workflow and efficiency in today's busy ENT and Allergy practices.

Benefits of using scribes in an ENT and Allergy practice

ENT and Allergy specialists were looking for ways to reduce their time spent on documentation and reviewing reimbursements in order to provide patient-centered care while minimizing burnout. Medical scribes came to their rescue.

Various specialties have studied and analyzed the use of scribes both from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

1. In 2018 a study was conducted in an oncology practice where 33 physicians were paired with scribes. They found a 12.1% decrease in patient visit duration compared to visits without scribe support.
2. A 2017 study conducted in a urology practice incorporating scribes observed that productivity as measured by both office E&M visits as well as total RVUs significantly improved.
3. Another study reported that adding scribes in an emergency room improved physicians' productivity and decreased the length of stay of patients. This study also showed a cost saving benefit to the hospital.
4. Other specialties like cardiology noted an increase in physician satisfaction rates when using scribes.

Hence, it makes sense that ENT and Allergy clinics can also achieve similar benefits in patient length of stay, reduced cost per patient, and productivity gains. We can draw the conclusion that using medical scribes is one proposed way to reduce the data entry and documentation burden, while also enhancing efficiency of care.

Dr. Kevin McGrath an Allergy and Immunology Specialist's scribe experience

Let us see the personal experience of Dr. Kevin McGrath an adult and pediatric allergy, asthma and clinical immunology specialist. Dr. Kevin McGrath works hand-in-hand with ENT specialists to provide faster diagnosis and comprehensive treatment so that patients benefit from this close collaboration. Dr. Kevin McGrath found that the EHR was driving him crazy. He was tired of spending so much time entering chart notes into his patients' electronic health records. He was spending after-clinic hours and even weekends to keep up and make sure his notes were accurate and thorough. It was at this point he started to use scribes and things changed for the better. He felt that he was no longer wasting time entering data into the computer and had more time to spend with his patients. Most importantly, he felt that his documentation quality improved. Well, medical scribes, free ENT and Allergy specialists from documenting clinical encounters which in turn allows them to focus on treating patients. A virtual medical scribe documents the patients' visit in real-time in the EHR, while the ENT and Allergy specialist conducts the visit and exam. Dr. Kevin McGrath found that the use of scribes saved time and improved his overall quality of life. He felt more productive and was able to see more patients. Above all, he didn't have to stay until 7 or 8 p.m. to finish notes or remember every detail of the visit at the end of the day.

Well, how do you find a scribe for your ENT and allergy practice? You can contract through a reputed scribing service like Scribe4Me who have trained and experienced scribes to provide high-quality accurate charts. Our virtual medical scribes assist with documenting patient visits in real-time and charts are ready even before the patient leaves the exam room. This improves patient-centered care as the physician is less focused on EHR documentation and more present during the visit. Sounds exciting? Well, to know more on how Scribe4Me's medical scribes can help lower your documentation burden while improving efficiency of patient care, reach us at (908)736-4180.