Are you looking for the best virtual medical scribe Canada services for healthcare providers?
Hiring one can indeed bring many advantages to your practice. They can help you become more productive, save on hiring expenses, and contribute to providing quality care to your patients.
That said, you need to consider a few things before hiring one. To start, read this guide and be smart in choosing the right virtual scribe:
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What’s a virtual medical scribe?
A virtual medical scribe is a trained professional who works closely with doctors and helps them transcribe patient encounters. They are trained to document medical records accurately in electronic health records (EHR) systems.
At the same time, they also assist physicians with other administrative tasks such as managing patient files, answering patient queries about insurance, and following up on patient appointments.
Benefits of hiring a virtual medical scribe
Recent studies have shown that hiring virtual scribes improves healthcare providers’ productivity, work-life balance, and patient care quality.
If you’re planning to hire a virtual scribe, here are the benefits you’ll gain in your practice:
1. Enhanced productivity
The American Medical Association (AMA) found that spending time on EHR tasks, especially after hours, contributes to physician burnout. By hiring virtual scribes, physicians’ time spent on EHRs decreased by 16%.
This is not hard to believe, as virtual scribes are excellent at handling real-time documentation during patient visits. This allows you to see more patients without the added burden of updating patient records.
For example, instead of seeing 15 patients per shift, you can see 20 patients since your virtual scribe documents patient interactions and updates the EHR in real-time.
They also handle administrative tasks, freeing up your schedule for more important activities like patient care.
2. Work-life balance
By taking over documentation and administrative tasks, your virtual scribe helps you complete your tasks within your shift.
Since your schedule is now more freed up, you can start gaining a work-life balance. Instead of staying later in the clinic to finish charting, you can clock out earlier and join dinner with your family.
3. Better patient care quality
A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that effective doctor-patient communication resulted in higher patient satisfaction and better health outcomes.
This suggests that a clear and open dialogue between you and your patients is paramount to your practice. This is where a virtual medical scribe can help you.
With your medical scribe handling documentation, you can now focus on making your interactions more thorough.
You now have more time to answer your patients’ questions, give clarifications, and discuss treatment options.
4. No micromanaging
Virtual scribes can work independently. They can document your interactions without needing a lot of supervision.
If you can trust your scribe to document the interactions accurately, you can focus on determining a diagnosis without having to review each entry in the EHR extensively.
5. Cost-efficiency
Hiring an onsite scribe could cost you more. Proscribe shares that most virtual scribes charge only $1200 per month, as onsite scribes charge $4,200 per month. Plus, if you hire an on-site scribe, you’ll need to spend extra office space and equipment such as a desk, laptop, and table.
As opposed to hiring a virtual medical scribe, you’ll only pay for their hourly salary. Most virtual scribes already have their own devices, helping you save more on your hiring budget.
In addition, the revenue you’ll get from seeing more patients will cover the cost of hiring the scribe.
Key features to look for in virtual scribes
Hiring the perfect virtual scribe is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It’s a challenging task, but let these key qualities guide you in finding a virtual scribe that aligns with your needs:
1. Strong typing skills
Virtual medical scribes need to type quickly to keep up with the fast nature of patient interactions. With efficient typing skills, a virtual scribe can ensure they completely document the details of the patient encounters.
For example, within one consultation, the scribe should be able to document the patient’s history, symptoms, and treatment plans.
2. Great attention to detail
Aside from typing skills, great attention to detail ensures your scribe correctly hears and inputs information such as dosages, symptoms, and follow-up instructions.
Virtual scribes with this quality take notice when a patient mentions seemingly trivial but potentially critical information.
For example, if a patient says they might have an allergy to a medication, good virtual scribes don’t dismiss it. They make sure to include it in the documentation for further clarification later with the patient and physician.
3. Communication skills
Medical scribes and physicians must always communicate to ensure the documentation stays accurate. Scribes with excellent communication skills are highly beneficial to healthcare organizations.
For instance, good virtual scribes ask for clarification from doctors during complex case discussions. This ensures that no details are wrongly interpreted and documented in the EHR.
4. Interpersonal skills
One of the responsibilities of virtual scribes is to communicate with other healthcare providers, insurance providers, and patients. This is why good interpersonal skills are also crucial for virtual scribes.
A virtual scribe with good interpersonal skills can adapt their communication style to the healthcare provider (HP). This is highly beneficial in a busy clinic with multiple doctors.
Scribes can help maintain an efficient workflow in the clinic by being adaptable and learning each physician’s clinical documentation preferences.
5. Knowledge of medical terminology
Any virtual medical scribe must have, at least, a basic grasp of medical terminology and concepts. That said, a professional virtual scribe must have a good command of medical terminology.
The greater their medical knowledge, the better for your practice. This is because knowledgeable scribes can easily follow along with your patient interactions with fewer clarifications.
For example, during an oncology consultation, you may discuss various chemotherapy options and mention medical jargon. Scribes with a solid knowledge of medical terms accurately record the discussion, ensuring the medical record reflects the correct treatment plans and options.
Secure and compliant documentation solutions
When hiring virtual medical scribes, ensure they are well aware of complying with these security protocols.
PIPEDA and HIPAA
In the US, scribes are trained to understand and comply with HIPAA regulations when working with HPs. In Canada, scribes must familiarize themselves with PIPEDA or Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
For example, in every documentation, a virtual scribe in Canada must verify patient information to ensure that the medical records are accurate.
Encrypted documentation
The virtual scribe must also use cloud-based EHR systems with encryption features. This helps ensure that only authorized access can view the data, maintaining the patients’ confidentiality.
Regular audits
Physicians must also schedule quarterly audit services with virtual scribes to comply with PIPEDA’s regulatory requirements. The audit process includes reviewing access logs, data handling practices, and security measures.
Should you hire a medical scribe?
We’d say yes, but before you look for service providers, you must also ensure you’re prepared to work with a medical scribe. For instance, if you’re considering virtual medical scribe Canada services, be prepared to invest in software that will make their workflow smoother. You must also set up an onboarding process to help them adjust to your workflow quickly and seamlessly.
