Healthcare professionals are here to give medical advice, care for our well-being, and maintain public health. Yet, most are involved in too many time-consuming tasks that don’t even require their specialized expertise.
An article from the CDC shows the harm caused by doctors’ never-ending workload, which causes burnout, increases the risk of errors, and takes valuable time away from providing patient care.
So, how do we solve this?
The short answer: live virtual medical scribes.
These virtual medical scribes fill the healthcare industry’s gap regarding administrative workload and documentation. With their help, doctors and healthcare providers can now get back on their feet and focus on quality patient care.
But are virtual medical scribes really good for your practice? If you’re skeptical or still want to learn more, keep reading.
A live virtual medical scribe has made my daily workflow seamless!
What is a virtual medical scribe?
Virtual medical scribes are just like your traditional scribes, except they work remotely or offsite.
They listen in on patient encounters through telecommunications technology and take note of all essential details.
While the doctor is focused on examining and advising patients, a virtual medical scribe works behind the scenes. It makes sure all documentation and administrative tasks are well-handled.
What do virtual scribes specifically do?
Once you get a virtual medical scribe, here are the key characteristics or responsibilities they commonly have:
Documentation assistance: Virtual medical scribes join patient interactions from their homes and document critical information as they happen in real time.
Flexibility in service: As they work remotely, virtual scribes offer more flexibility to cater to your schedule.
Syncing with EHR: Remote scribes directly enter all notes and data into the electronic health records (EHR) system for proper recording.
Specialized scribe training: These professionals undergo training to learn about medical terminology and best practice as a scribe.
HIPAA compliance: Virtual medical scribes are also trained to fully comply with HIPAA standards and strictly protect their patient’s data.
What’s wrong with the traditional documentation system?
You may think live virtual scribes haven’t existed before, so why do you need them now?
While there are still doctors and healthcare providers who traditionally handle documentation themselves, many issues are taking a toll on the field.
Impact of Virtual Scribes on Medical Documentation
No Data Found
This pie chart illustrates the benefits of virtual scribes in medical documentation. It highlights a 1-2 patient increase per 4-hour clinic shift and a 12-14% improvement in relative value units (RVU) per chart. By reducing documentation burdens, scribes enhance efficiency, allowing providers to focus more on patient care and workflow optimization.
Eats up too much time
Sadly, it’s no surprise that doctors and healthcare professionals spend more time recording medical information than actual patient work.
Doctors even spend their personal time catching up on EHR duties. The huge backlog of documentation strains the whole practice workflow and causes longer patient wait times.
Even though documentation is incredibly important, spending too much time on it when it can be delegated instead is clearly a waste of resources.
More prone to errors
Insisting physicians to handle their own documentation in addition to their medical work only makes them more prone to errors.
Because of the pressure and heavy workload, healthcare professionals can sometimes omit information or make mistakes when inputting patient data themselves. Not only does this harm the patient, but it also opens up your practice to financial and legal issues.
Lower quality of patient interaction
What would you feel if you were on a check-up and the doctor kept typing away at the screen?
This scenario is quite common when doctors handle documentation independently. Patients mostly feel dissatisfied and unheard since their concerns seem to take a back seat.
Due to the added work of EHR documentation, doctors rush through the conversation and compromise the quality of the interaction, which could have negative long-term effects on their practice.
Physician burnout
The medical field is already regarded as an intense environment – what more when administrative load is added on their plate?
When doctors are too bogged down with work, they become a part of a relentless cycle of stress.
Physicians can easily burn out, which leads to more problems in the field, such as high turnover rates, poor patient care, and mental health challenges.
Loss in revenue
Documentation mistakes that go unchecked can easily cost your practice losses in revenue.
For example, errors or missing codes can lead to underpayment of insurance or, worse, rejected claims.
Additionally, when healthcare providers are inefficient or unorganized in documenting, some services may go unbilled altogether if the physicians forget to document them.
How do virtual medical scribe services address healthcare problems?
Now that you know the different issues with the traditional medical scribing option, the next question is: How do remote medical scribe services tackle them?
Let’s find out!
More efficient documentation
With live virtual scribes, physicians don’t need to handle documentation by themselves anymore. These scribes now take over the documentation work and record patient encounters as they happen.
Since the workload during a consultation is properly divided between the doctor and the scribe, both parties can focus better and be more efficient with their assignments.
Increase in accuracy and compliance
Accurate documentation in healthcare is a must not just for the patients but also for compliance purposes.
When you have a dedicated and fully-trained remote medical scribe in your practice, you can rest assured that your processes are fully compliant with HIPAA and other regulations.
Less administrative burdens
Employing virtual scribes in your practice significantly reduces the administrative burden on your physicians’ shoulders.
With their reclaimed free time, doctors can take in more patients every day or even study more to expand their knowledge in the field.
They can also finally enjoy a better work-life balance now that they don’t need to sacrifice personal time for documentation tasks.
Better patient relationships
Now that physicians can spend less time on their computer screens, they can give their full attention to patients and have more meaningful conversations.
When patients feel heard, they become more trusting of their physicians and receptive to treatments. This boosts the reputation of your practice and brings in more money for the business.
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What benefits can you enjoy from having a virtual scribe?
Before, physicians and healthcare workers had to break their backs trying to balance patient care and documentation work.
But now that virtual scribe services are here, healthcare practices can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy these benefits:
Finish more tasks in less time
Every minute you save is a blessing when you’re running a busy healthcare practice teeming with patients.
With virtual scribes handling documentation in real time, backlogs are significantly reduced, and physicians can see more patients during their workday.
Healthcare workers can also dedicate extra time to research or learning new skills.
Budget-friendly services
Virtual medical scribes can save you all your troubles for smaller practices with a tighter hiring budget!
When you hire in-person scribes, you take them in as a full-time employee and have to shoulder all their salaries, benefits, equipment, training, and more. But with remote scribes, you don’t need to worry about these overhead costs anymore.
Virtual scribes are typically hired on a contractual basis or from agencies, so you only need to pay them a certain rate. They are the perfect option for startups or small practices!
Healthy work-life balance
With the help of virtual scribe services, physicians can now enjoy more of their free time and focus on what they’re meant to do in the field – taking care of patients.
Besides, healthcare workers deserve their rest, too. As the virtual medical scribes and in house staff take on the administrative load, doctors get back their personal time, take a break, and do whatever makes them feel refreshed before the next workday.
Improved financial processes
Thanks to virtual medical scribes, your practice’s financial processes can be smoother and more efficient.
Accurate documentation and proper record coding make it easier to maximize insurance reimbursements and receive them as early as possible.
Because of this faster payment cycle, your practice can enjoy a more stable cash flow and have the resources to invest back into the business.
Focus on patient care
When doctors are not too busy fiddling with an EHR system, they can give their undivided attention to patients during check-ups.
The deeper engagement helps build the patient’s trust and motivates them to share details critical to their concern.
At the same time, physicians who are focused on primary care for their patients can give a more accurate diagnosis and prescribe better treatment plans – a win-win scenario for both doctors and patients!
Highly scalable
When your healthcare practice grows, so does your need for documentation assistance. So, virtual scribe services should be your go-to solution if you want to scale your business!
Remote scribes provide the flexibility a growing business needs compared to in-person scribes, as you can easily increase their services if necessary.
When business is slow, you can choose to only let them work a few hours. But if your practice is booming, you can add more working hours or simply hire more remote scribes.
How do you know which virtual scribe service provider to choose?
Many virtual medical scribe companies will tell you they have what you need to solve your medical documentation burdens. But how do you make sure which is the right one?
Here’s a quick checklist for you to run through when choosing a provider:
Reputation and experience in the industry
Looking at a company’s experience is a great way to gauge how long they’ve been successful in the game. Also, look for reviews and testimonials to see if their previous clients are satisfied with their service.
Proficiency in tech
No remote service would work without technology, including virtual scribe services. Verify that their technology is secure and compatible with the practice’s internal computer systems.
Compliance with regulation standards
Safeguarding patients’ privacy and security is a top priority for virtually any healthcare practice. Ensure that the virtual medical scribe companies you’re choosing from are fully compliant with HIPAA standards and have the proper security measures in place to protect your patients’ data.
Specialized expertise
Some providers may choose to specialize in certain fields, like pediatrics, dermatology, cardiology, and others. If your practice is highly specialized, you can opt for providers who can get specialty training to specifically cater to your team and expertise.
Customer service
Getting a virtual scribe from a provider shouldn’t be the end of your deal with them. Look for a provider with excellent customer service that you can contact whenever you need further support.
Experience the benefits of a virtual medical scribe
All healthcare practices, big or small, are always facing the same dilemma – the burden of documentation.
The good news is you no longer have to keep your medical scribing in the traditional way. With the help of virtual medical scribes, you increase productivity, efficiency, and morale in your practice, all at a lower cost.
Experience all the great benefits a virtual medical scribe can offer by contacting us today.