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How Scribes’ Real-Time Documentation Affects Their Burnout?

Burnout in the healthcare industry is a growing concern, with physicians and healthcare professionals facing increased pressure from administrative tasks. The workload associated with medical documentation, especially in electronic health records (EHRs), has been a significant contributor to this issue. However, real-time documentation by medical scribes offers a practical solution. By offloading the task of documentation to trained scribes, healthcare providers can regain focus on patient care, reduce stress, and ultimately combat burnout. In this article, we’ll explore how medical scribes play a crucial role in improving both the efficiency of healthcare delivery and the well-being of healthcare providers.

Key Takeaways:

• Real-time documentation by medical scribes reduces the time physicians spend on administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on patient care.
• This shift in responsibility helps to alleviate physician burnout, a growing problem in the healthcare industry.
• Medical scribes not only improve workflow efficiency but also enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

The Issue of Burnout in Healthcare Professionals

In recent years, physician burnout is one of the frequently faced issues in handling patients. According to Dr. Andrew Bazemore’s 2015 report published by the American Medical Association (AMA), up to 74% of U.S. Physicians experience symptoms of burnouts and stressors as a result of the intense workloads, long working hours, and overload of non-medical work such as administrative work and documentation. These stress factors often lead to poor satisfaction with one’s job, suboptimal patient care, and a greater incidence of job exits.

Medical documentation is one of the key factors contributing to burnout. After every patient visit, doctors spend a considerable number of hours post-visit updating physician notes, entering information in the EHR, completing various forms, etc. Some of these might seem irrelevant however, they are meant to improve the quality of care received by the patients, but nevertheless, they act as a barrier to patient interaction and hence increase the chances of getting burnt out.

How Medical Scribes Help Reduce Burnout

Medical scribes are trained professionals who assist physicians by handling the documentation process in real-time during patient visits. By taking over the responsibility of entering data into the EHR and transcribing clinical notes, scribes allow doctors to focus entirely on the patient in front of them.

1. Freeing Physicians from Administrative Work

The primary role of a medical scribe is to document patient encounters while the doctor is with the patient. This allows the physician to focus on the patient without being distracted by the need to type notes, update charts, or perform other clerical tasks. For example, when a doctor is discussing a patient’s symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment plan, the scribe records everything in real time. This eliminates the need for the doctor to spend time after the appointment catching up on notes.

The result? Physicians can complete their rounds faster, see more patients, and avoid the late-night catch-up sessions that are common in many healthcare settings.

2. Improved Workflow and Reduced Stress

Medical scribes not only save physicians time but also improve the overall workflow of a healthcare facility. By enabling real-time documentation, the process of updating EHRs becomes seamless and efficient. This leads to less administrative back-and-forth, reduced errors, and a smoother patient flow.

When healthcare providers can trust that their documentation is being handled accurately and efficiently, they are less likely to feel overwhelmed by paperwork. This contributes directly to lower stress levels, allowing physicians to provide better care and maintain a healthier work-life balance.

3. Increased Job Satisfaction

When physicians are freed from the burden of documentation, they experience a greater sense of job satisfaction. Studies have shown that when physicians spend more time on patient care and less on administrative tasks, their job satisfaction increases significantly. This not only helps reduce burnout but also improves retention rates among healthcare professionals.

Moreover, reducing burnout can improve the quality of care that physicians provide. When doctors feel less stressed and more engaged with their work, they are better able to focus on delivering high-quality, empathetic care to their patients.

Benefits of Real-Time Documentation for Healthcare Providers

Here are some of the specific ways real-time documentation through medical scribes positively impacts healthcare providers:

• Reduced Documentation Time: Physicians save hours per week that would have been spent documenting patient visits. This allows them to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.
• Improved Patient Care: With scribes handling the documentation, physicians can engage more deeply with their patients, fostering better communication and a more personal experience.
• Lower Risk of Burnout: Offloading administrative tasks helps prevent physician burnout by reducing workload, stress, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by non-clinical duties.
• Enhanced Work-Life Balance: Physicians who no longer have to spend extra hours at the end of the day catching up on documentation are more likely to maintain a healthier work-life balance.
• Increased Productivity: With the support of scribes, physicians can see more patients per day without sacrificing the quality of care or risking burnout.

What Did We Learn?

Use of medical scribes in real-time captures patient interactions which assist in reducing burnout in healthcare practitioners. Scribes focus on patients while paper work is handled separately, thus maintaining the equilibrium between excessive patient loads and administrative work. As a consequence, the quality of care improves, the level of satisfaction and stress of health personnel decreases.

Medical scribes are solving the physician burnout epidemic and their role is becoming more important in today’s healthcare setting. Scribes boost the healthcare system by enhancing efficiency and allowing physicians to concentrate more on their core responsibility of providing care to the patients.

FAQ

What tasks do medical scribes perform?
Medical scribes assist physicians by documenting patient information in real time during appointments. This includes entering data into Electronic Health Records (EHR), transcribing physician-patient conversations, and ensuring that all necessary clinical information is captured accurately.

How do medical scribes reduce burnout?
By handling time-consuming administrative tasks, scribes reduce the workload on physicians, allowing them to focus on patient care. This leads to less stress, fewer late-night documentation sessions, and a healthier work-life balance for healthcare providers.

Can medical scribes work remotely?
Yes, many medical scribes work remotely, especially with the rise of telemedicine. Remote scribes can assist healthcare providers without being physically present in the clinic or hospital, offering flexibility and cost-saving benefits.

Are medical scribes trained in medical terminology?
Yes, medical scribes undergo extensive training to understand medical terminology, procedures, and EHR systems. This ensures that they can accurately document patient interactions and provide high-quality support to healthcare providers.

Disclaimer

The information in our posts is meant to inform and educate both healthcare providers and readers seeking a better understanding of healthcare processes. However, it is not a substitute for professional advice. Insurance requirements, policies, and approval processes can vary widely and change over time. For accurate guidance, healthcare providers should consult directly with insurers or use professional resources, while patients should reach out to their insurance providers or healthcare professionals for advice specific to their situation.

This content does not establish any patient-caregiver or client-service relationship. Staffingly, Inc. assumes no liability for actions taken based on information provided in these posts.

For tailored support and professional services, please contact Staffingly, Inc. at (800) 489-5877 or email support@staffingly.com.

About an Author: Emma Johnson is now described as an expert in healthcare communication, with a knack for medical coding, scribing, and making healthcare topics accessible and engaging. 

Reference:

https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/esp/medical-scribes-REPORT.pdf