A virtual medical patient scribe listens in on doctor visits and translates the information into the patient's electronic medical/health records. The EMR system the doctor uses is essential to proper diagnosis and patient billing. Although approximately 85% of physicians' offices use some form of EMR or EHR, it causes a myriad of setbacks. One of these setbacks is burnout. Burnout leads to stress, lost wages, and the inefficient use of time. In this article, you'll discover how virtual medical patient scribe services increase revenue and prevent burnout.
Little to No Training Required
The first revenue benefit offered by remote medical patient scribe services is that doctors don't have to train new scribes every few months. Many in-person scribes are medical students. When this scribe graduates or leaves for the semester, physicians will have to hire and train someone to fill the role. About 44% of doctors report feeling burned out due to bureaucratic tasks and long hours. With virtual scribes, medical centers save the time and money they'd pay hiring and training new staff. Virtual scribes are trained on several different EMRs to accommodate as many physicians as possible. This also reduces scheduling conflicts that can leave doctors without assistance.
Less Paperwork
One of the leading causes of burnout among doctors is paperwork. According to the Medscape Physician Compensation Report, doctors spend approximately 10 to 20 or more hours doing paperwork each week. Roughly 61% of patients reported having a more pleasant experience when doctors utilized scribes. Virtual scribes allow doctors to focus more on patient interactions and less on the paperwork. This leads to better a diagnosis, improved patient relationships, and increases the amount of completed paperwork at the end of the day.
It Pays for Itself
In a study of cardiovascular physician's offices, those using scribe services were able to see 10% more patients than those without. This lead to more followup visits, higher-quality clinic notes, and improved productivity leading to a revenue of $1.4 million in 2 months. The total cost of scribe services translated to roughly $99 thousand. What doctors pay in virtual scribe services, they also get back in time and energy. Doctors are able to take on new patients and offer a higher quality of care. Virtual scribes also offer more privacy for patients over in-office help. Physicians can use them on an as-needed basis, offering flexibility to their workload.
Virtual medical patient scribe services can greatly improve your satisfaction as a physician. They allow you to do more of what you're great at and less of what you're not. Choose a service that has HIPPA approved connections, a great track record for customer service, and trained professionals on your preferred EMR/EHR program.
