Blog

How Do Medical Scribes Improve Patient-Doctor Interaction?

The doctor-patient relationship is at the center in today’s healthcare setting’s most significant focus area. Maintaining a patient interaction while writing notes can be stressful for doctors in today’s medical world, and this tension-filled atmosphere can be difficult to navigate. This is where medical scribes come in—providing a solution to compromise between care and efficiency. Medical scribes handle documentation so that the doctors don’t have to, and they can concentrate on their patients instead.

Key Takeaways:

Medical scribes are experienced professionals who provide assistance to the physicians in the documentation of the patient’s data so that patients can focus more during consultations.

In light of the documentation of patients’ charts, scribes have commanded the least time of physicians which helps the doctors attend patients in a much more relaxed and efficient manner.

The use of medical scribes in a practice can improve the complete workflow of the practice leading to improved satisfaction of patient’s experience.

Scribes can be recruited literally anywhere and can either work from home or the practice which is cheap and greatly reduces staffing stress.

The Strain of Administrative Duties on Doctors

Physicians are mainly caregivers. However, with the introduction of electronic health records (EHR), a large portion of their responsibilities depends on patient documentation which takes their interaction. A doctor’s day involves commuting between writing notes, charting, coding, test orders, and form-filling. These functions can shift the focus from the interpersonal aspect of patients that contributes to a decrease in visit duration, patient’s degree of satisfaction, and even physician’s exhaustion.

This is particularly the case within the busy ambience of the urgent care or primary care setting where the filled doctor’s time is limited due to the high number of expected visits in a given period. Therefore, patients may consider themselves just a number in the queue and not people that require specific attention.

How Medical Scribes Come to the Rescue?

Medical scribes are professionals trained to accompany and work with physicians in the field recording interactions with patients or their relatives in the course of the physician’s or patient’s visit. Their responsibilities generally encompass:

EHR updates: this approach aims at tackling all relevant information in e-chart throughout the practice making it easier for the doctor to see patients without typing and searching on the computer.

Transcribing discussions between a doctor and a patient: Including all the key features of the conversation and ensuring that the transcript is not only clear, but quite detailed.

Assists with the agenda by ordering necessary tests or medications after explaining requests: which helps doctors from adhering to monotonous tasks and thereby getting ready for a new patient.

Since these tasks are offloaded to a scribe, doctors do not need to type but can look at a patient, listen and engage with them. This results in a stronger connection with the patient and a better overall experience.

The Positive Impact on Patient-Doctor Interaction

Enhanced Cared and More Compassionate Patients

When there is no burden of putting the encounter into writing throughout the meeting with a patient, the doctor will be able to concentrate on the patient exclusively, which is advantageous to the situation. This indicates that they are better able to take in, feel, and effectively address the problems that the patient has. Patients start to feel as if their words have weight and hence become satisfied with the visit.

Heightened Patient Expectation

Trust is a critical component of the dyadic relationship. When doctors have to type less during examination with a patient, the patient gives the impression that the doctor is able to pay attention to the conversation. This can help build persistence and improve patient outcome.

Improvement in the Treatment Administration Process

Medical scribes not only improve care documentation but also have the potential to improve other administrative processes. Now that a physician does not have to enter any data into a computer, he or she will be able to see more patients or spend more time with those who require it the most. The entire practice dynamics improves which in turn helps, the patients and the health care provider.

Improved Documentation Quality

The existence of a scribe reduces the likelihood of important details being overlooked. Scribes receive specific training aimed at accurately recording essential information which translates to reduced errors in patient records. This results in improvement in continuity of care, as the patient’s entire medical history is known and current.

What Did We Learn?

Scribes are not mere assistants; they value the patient-physician experience by increasing the quality of care, ensuring less work for doctors and improving efficiency. As scribes do more documentation and manage EHR, this helps to create an environment where patients are cared for and physicians are not burdened with non-medical practices.

Implementing medical scribes offers benefits such as timely patient visits, enhanced effectiveness, and a positive experience for patients. This makes the relationship between the doctor and patient much stronger and improves the health and satisfaction of patients in the end.

FAQ

How do medical scribes improve doctor-patient communication?
Scribes allow doctors to be more present with patients by taking over the documentation process. This enables doctors to listen attentively, maintain eye contact, and engage in a more empathetic conversation with the patient.

Can medical scribes work remotely?
Yes! Many medical scribes work remotely, especially in virtual care environments, allowing healthcare practices to reduce costs while still maintaining efficient documentation support.

How do medical scribes help with physician burnout?
By handling the administrative burden of documentation, scribes help reduce the stress and exhaustion that comes with managing both patient care and paperwork, ultimately preventing burnout and improving job satisfaction.

Are medical scribes trained?
Yes, medical scribes undergo extensive training in medical terminology, documentation procedures, and EHR systems to ensure they can provide accurate and efficient support to physicians.

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.cfm