What Does a Virtual Medical Scribe Do: Everything Healthcare Providers Need to Know

What responsibilities does a virtual medical scribe carry?

The main job of a virtual medical scribe is to offload the administrative duties of healthcare professionals. They do this by taking over some responsibilities that used to fall within the physician’s duties or scope of work.

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Documenting patient consultations

Virtual medical scribes use gadgets like smartphones or tablets to listen in during patient visits and take down important notes in real-time. These scribes then immediately record the patient’s information into the electronic health record (EHR) system to ensure records are always current.

Aside from recording patient information, medical scribes are also assigned to create transcriptions, which are essentially dictated clinical notes in a written format.

Entering and updating clinical information

While a physician does all the talking and questioning, virtual medical scribes focus on entering and updating clinical information. This includes preparing and keeping patient charts updated by regularly recording patient allergies, medical histories, and medications they currently take.

Performing duties after the consultation

A virtual medical scribe’s job doesn’t stop after the patient visit is over – they also help patients and doctors with post-consultation duties.

An example of an after-consultation duty is tracking follow-up requirements and ensuring patients fulfill them, including scheduling follow-ups and undergoing prescribed tests. 

Virtual medical scribing also involves releasing discharge summaries, which contain information regarding the patient’s care plan.

Handling EHR documentation

Managing electronic health records (EHRs) is a tedious task that could take up hours of a physician’s time. Medical scribes, who are specifically trained to work with EHR systems, can easily lift this burden off physicians’ schedules.

Aside from keeping records updated and errors at the minimum, medical scribes also handle sensitive patient information with the utmost care and privacy.

Why do we need virtual scribes in medical practices?

One of the biggest issues in medical practices is how doctors and healthcare providers are always overworked and overwhelmed with documentation burdens.

Even when physicians are primarily hired to treat patients, they still spend most of their time in front of a computer doing administrative tasks. These additional tasks also unnecessarily stretch the physician’s already long working hours, which is the main ingredient for burnout and low job satisfaction.

Consequently, patients also feel the negative effects of a doctor’s fatigue and stress. During consultations, patients might see their physician become less focused or more irritable. This kind of behavior from doctors can create a barrier between patients and physicians, preventing them from disclosing all the information doctors need.

These issues of reduced physician satisfaction and negative patient experience show how virtual medical scribes can provide great support in the medical field. 

Virtual scribing takes over the physicians’ administrative burdens, which then significantly boosts their productivity at work and improves patient satisfaction.

What benefits do you get from virtual medical scribes?

Having a virtual medical scribe in your practice can bring multiple advantages for both providers and patients. 

Read on to learn the benefits of hiring a virtual medical scribe in your practice:

Increased productivity among physicians

Without the heavy load of administrative tasks, physicians can now spend more time doing meaningful work and focusing solely on patient care. 

Since they don’t worry about documentation anymore, it’s easier for a physician to complete check-ups and consultations with more patients and devise treatment plans for them. 

More positive patient experience

Nobody wants to consult a doctor who seems inattentive, too tired, or in a foul mood. However, this happens way too often when physicians are stressed over non-clinical tasks.

Medical scribes prevent this scenario from happening by doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to administrative and documentation tasks. With their help, healthcare professionals can be more attentive, engage in meaningful conversations, and enhance the overall experience of more patients.

Lower costs in operations

If you want to save money on operations, then hiring a virtual scribe is the more cost-effective option for you. Unlike an onsite scribe, you can hire virtual medical scribes on a contractor basis, and you won’t have to spend money on additional equipment, benefits, and even office space.

You can also avoid spending on training and onboarding costs since virtual scribes are usually under agencies which already take care of filtering, training, and onboarding these scribes.

Reduced burnout and turnover

Physician burnout has been a persistent problem in the healthcare sector for years. A study even shows that 40% of doctors are dissatisfied with their work-life balance. 

However, by letting medical scribes carry their administrative burdens, physicians can feel some relief from their workload and experience less stress from their jobs. A physician is also less likely to quit when they’re not bogged down with administrative work, which benefits healthcare organizations and businesses too.

Flexible and scalable services

Healthcare providers are free to define what services they’ll get from virtual scribes. This flexibility allows them to access virtual scribing services on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on their needs.

Filling in odd schedules or late hours is also easier since you can hire remote medical scribes from all over the world. In short, if you need someone working your night-hour shifts, you can simply hire a virtual scribe in another time zone.

Avoiding functional creep

Functional creep happens when an employee’s workload unintentionally increases, which is quite common among onsite scribes. 

Fortunately, it’s easier to avoid functional creep with a virtual scribe since they’re not physically present to suddenly take on additional responsibilities. Virtual scribing agencies are also proactive in ensuring their scribes only perform duties that are within the agreed-upon scope.

How does a virtual scribe differ from an onsite scribe?

Even when virtual and onsite scribes cover the same responsibilities, they still have key differences, which help healthcare providers decide which one supports their needs more.

Read on to learn the differences between a virtual and on site scribe.

Location

As the name suggests, a traditional or onsite scribe works physically in hospitals or clinics and is always with physicians in the exam room during consultations. Even though it’s easy for them to provide support in the hospital, their services are still limited to normal working hours and within a specific area.

Meanwhile, a virtual scribe can work from anywhere in the world, which makes them an excellent choice for healthcare organizations in rural areas or places with manpower shortages. Businesses offering telemedicine or telehealth services can also opt for hiring virtual scribes.

Cost

Just like for regular employees, hiring onsite scribes means giving out salary packages with benefits and insurance, allotting office space, and spending on other operational costs. 

On the other hand, you can hire a virtual scribe at a lower cost, as you can simply pay them on a per-session or contract basis.

Flexibility

As mentioned earlier, on-site scribes are limited to their location and the regular office hours within their area. 

Conversely, virtual scribes can offer their services even if they’re in a different country or time zone. This flexibility makes it possible for them to do shifts even beyond the traditional working hours.

Technology

Onsite scribes can easily depend on face-to-face interactions since they work in person and alongside a physician.

In contrast, virtual scribes need to use tools for video conferencing so they can participate in patient encounters. Remote scribes also use advanced EHR systems when recording patient data, and encryptions to enhance the security of sensitive information.

What skills should you look for in a virtual scribe?

Virtual scribing is one of the most crucial tasks in healthcare, especially since a scribe’s outputs directly affect how physicians review and interpret every patient case.

So when you’re looking for a virtual medical scribe, make sure to keep an eye out for these skills:

• Expertise in medical terminologies: Scribes should know how to understand medical terminologies, especially since they will frequently encounter these terms when documenting a patient visit. 

• Proficiency in EHR systems: Look for medical scribes who have been trained to work with EHR systems efficiently and who pay attention to detail to minimize errors in data entry.

• Speed and accuracy: In addition to typing fast, a virtual scribe must also be attentive and active when listening during patient consultations.

• Compliance with HIPAA standards: Medical scribes should ensure confidentiality, comply with data privacy laws and be familiar with tools that can improve the security of sensitive patient data.

Provide quality healthcare with the help of virtual medical scribes

If your practice is struggling with increased physician burnout and reduced quality of patient care, then virtual medical scribes present an all-in-one solution for you!

By simply taking over the administrative and documentation burdens from healthcare providers, a virtual scribe allows physicians to reclaim their time and focus on providing the best patient care.

Not only do you lift job satisfaction and lower stress among your doctors, but you can also make your patients feel more valued and heard every time they avail your service.

If you want to start experiencing the full benefits of expert virtual medical scribing services, contact us today.