By Haley Holmes
May 05,2022
With the advent of EHRs physician offices across the country are under increased pressure to maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date medical records of each patient visit. This results in a significant amount of paperwork on the part of the physicians. Enter virtual medical scribes to ease this paperwork overload. A virtual medical scribe is a professional who can handle this additional workload, giving physicians more time to focus on their patients. And now that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to embrace a virtual world, virtual medical scribes have become increasingly popular and a preferred option more than ever.
A virtual medical scribe is a professional who is trained to capture and concurrently document physician patient interactions, in real-time. They accompany a physician during patient visits remotely from a HIPAA secure facility and chart directly into the EHRs. In short a virtual medical scribe is virtually present during every step of the patient encounter - right from the initial history taking, through the physical exam, and all the other components that go into a physician seeing a patient. With a virtual scribe to assume the EHR and the clinical charting responsibilities, allows physicians to solely focus on providing patient-centered care.
A virtual scribe is an integral part of the patient care team whose goal is to make the life of physicians easier. In order to accomplish this, the following are some of the duties and responsibilities performed by them.
The salary of a virtual medical scribe in the Unites States varies with the city, experience, proficiency and skillset. Generally, it may range somewhere between $28,783 and $41,233 per year. As of April 26, 2022, the average hourly compensation for a scribe in the United States is $17, but usually ranges between $15 and $19. However, as you gain experience and advance in your career you can significantly increase your earning potential.
If you are aspiring to become a virtual medical scribe the minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma. However some employers may prefer to have work experience or a college degree, particularly in science. As a virtual medical scribe has to assume a variety of roles and responsibilities, they should also receive some specialized training. They can obtain this training, either through online courses, reading books and manuals, or enrolling in courses offered at local colleges. There are also many virtual scribing companies that offer specialized training. The training takes place after you have been hired for the role. Apart from that, the ability to multitask, use EHR software, good typing speed, and strong computer skills would be an added advantage.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the use of virtual medical scribes has increased, driven largely by the need to ease documentation burden, alleviate physician burnout and limit staff present in the exam rooms. In fact, Covid 19 has changed the delivery of and access to healthcare. With the majority of hospitals making a switch to telemedicine, scribes virtually participate in telemedicine appointments to provide documentation assistance. No wonder, the virtual medical scribe concept has gained immense popularity in recent days and is here to stay during the pandemic and beyond.
If you are looking to hire experienced virtual medical scribes to help you with your documentation tasks, Scribe4Me is the go-to company
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Virtual medical scribes are becoming increasingly popular in recent years as a perfect alternative to traditional medical scribes
Virtual medical scribing has become increasingly popular in recent years as majority of physicians� offices and hospitals have switched from paper to electronic records
Medical practices across the globe are under increased pressure to ensure that patient records are properly updated following each visit.
