Physicians are incredibly busy professionals. So busy that it’s no surprise to discover that the burnout rate among physicians is so high. This burnout can, partially, be attributed to the intense administrative load weighing heavily on their shoulders. For a single consultation, physicians need to ensure that all the relevant case notes are ready, that the EHR is updated during the consultation, and, finally, that action plans are put in place following the consultation. It sounds like an uphill struggle, but it can get much easier with the right medical scribe services.
What are Medical Scribe Services?
The most important thing to understand about medical scribe services is that they save physicians time, which is a valuable currency for healthcare professionals. As a result of the time that physicians can save with medical scribe services, they can also see more patients. But what are the finer points of medical scribe services?
A medical scribe is a highly trained professional who plays a crucial role in healthcare settings by assisting physicians and other healthcare providers with documentation and administrative tasks. Their main responsibility is to accurately record and transcribe patient encounters, including medical histories, physical examinations, diagnoses, and treatment plans, all in real-time. With accurate documentation on your side, you can ensure comprehensive and organized patient records, an absolute essential when it comes to delivering and maintaining world-class patient care.
Medical scribes are perfect for almost every clinical setting. As such, can be found in hospitals, emergency departments, and clinics. With medical scribe services in place, healthcare professionals quickly discover that their workflow becomes streamlined, and they can focus more directly on their patients. Most importantly, the administrative burden upon physicians is almost instantly reduced and stress levels follow suit accordingly.
For those at the top of their profession, medical scribes will possess a strong attention to detail, excellent communication skills, and, of course, a thorough knowledge and understanding of medical terminology. With all of these skills in place, medical scribe services will help support efficient healthcare delivery. A scenario which benefits both patients and physicians.
Enter the Healthcare Virtual Assistant
Medical scribe services have, until recently, been the preserve of employees who work face-to-face with physicians. However, this traditional relationship has recently been shaken up by the rise of the virtual assistant. Rather than traveling to a workplace every day, virtual assistants simply log in to their employees’ IT infrastructure over the Internet. This has all been made possible due to high-speed internet connections. Which have made crystal clear video conferencing and file sharing a possibility.
Therefore, your search for medical scribe services isn’t limited to the local area. Instead, your healthcare setting is suddenly opened up to a global pool of talent. This enhanced choice means that you can take your pick of the world’s best medical scribe services. It’s a good situation to be in, and, since the pandemic, more and more organizations have been turning to virtual assistants for help.
And the good news just keeps coming. Virtual assistants come packed with a wide range of benefits that their traditional counterparts simply can’t match. Not only does a virtual assistant deliver cost savings and increased efficiency, but they also don’t take up any space in your healthcare setting. This means that you can make better use of your real estate. Such as installing more medical equipment and expanding the services you offer.
The Wonder of Remote Medical Scribe Services
The framework of a virtual assistant can easily be transferred onto that of medical scribe services. So, if you swap out your traditional medical scribe, and bring in remote medical scribe services, you open yourself up to a world of enhanced productivity. In particular, remote medical scribe services allow you to delegate the following duties:
Documenting patient history:
Remote medical scribes can seamlessly document accurate patient histories. With a thorough understanding of medical terminology, they can record information regarding medical conditions, past surgeries, medications, and allergies. This data is crucial for healthcare providers to make sure that patients are receiving the correct medical care. Scribes can also take on the time-consuming task of updating the EHR to ensure it is up-to-date and organized. This ensures that anyone accessing it has the relevant information to make informed decisions.
Transcribing medical notes:
Medical scribe services guarantee that you have a fully competent transcriber on board, and this is essential when it comes to patient data. Whether they are discreetly present via videolink, or working with an audio recording of the consultation, a virtual scribe can accurately transcribe verbal instructions and observations provided by physicians during appointments. This allows the physician to stay focused on the patient and, in its written form, this documentation can be used to compile comprehensive medical records.
Data entry:
A more general task taken on by medical scribe services is data entry. This is a labor-intensive task, but one which a virtual scribe is fully trained in focusing on. And this is most keenly felt in areas of governance and financial processes. Medical scribe services can input patient demographic information, codes, and billing data with a precise level of detail. Healthcare organizations, therefore, receive proper reimbursement and maintain compliance with all regulations.
Order entry and record management:
Remote medical scribe services are vital in the process of order entry and management within healthcare settings. These responsibilities can involve accurately inputting and overseeing various medical orders. These can include medication requests, diagnostic tests, and any further treatment plans. And, with a virtual scribe in your team, you and your patients can rest assured that these will be inputted in a timely, accurate manner to minimize any mistakes.
Summarizing clinical notes:
The level of detail and complexity contained in clinical notes can often get in the way of communicating what is required. Thankfully, medical scribe services can play a pivotal role here. By efficiently managing a physician’s clinical notes, they can review, organize, and summarize the often extensive details. This streamlines the process of accessing and understanding patient information, allowing healthcare providers to make better decisions and save time.
Integrating Medical Scribe Services
The impact of integrating medical scribe services into your healthcare organization cannot be underestimated. Aside from the financial benefit of cost savings – estimated to be up to 78% a year – there are the clear benefits of boosting your productivity and saving significant time for your physicians. Ultimately, in the long term, this benefits both your physicians and your patients, a win-win scenario for any healthcare setting.
The problem many healthcare professionals have, however, comes in locating and recruiting these remote medical scribe services. Luckily, you’ve already made the most important step by visiting Hello Rache and reading this article. We have a huge talent pool of virtual scribes who could be the perfect fit for your business. To find out more, click here to start a conversation with us.
