COVID-19 Archives | Florida's Premiere Scribe Service

How Could the Florida Physician Shortage Affect Your Facility? Part 2

It is projected that physician demand will grow faster than supply, leading to a total physician shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians nationwide by 2034.[i] Thankfully, leaders are looking for solutions to this shortage. On March 18th, 2021, a bill was introduced to the Senate to increase the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas. Currently, the law increases the positions by 200 per fiscal year beginning in FY2023. With the new proposed law, that number would increase more to an additional 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2023-FY2029.[ii] With this and reducing a physicians’ school debt, it will help to promote a larger future physician workforce. The Physician Shortage Situation in Florida In Florida only, there is a staggering shortage of physicians, especially primary care physicians. The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that currently Florida already needs an additional 1,636 primary care physicians to address the existing shortage.[iii] The shortage is projected to grow to over 3,000 primary care physicians by 2025 and as high as 4,671 by 2023.[iv][v] In order to help combat this upcoming physician shortage epidemic, Florida’s …

Our Contact Tracing Service Can Help Keep Your Doors Open and Your Staff Safe

Businesses across the country are implementing contact tracing for COVID-19 positive employees. Does your business have a plan to keep the virus from spreading? The past year has been one of the most difficult for business owners. In addition to all the other responsibilities on their to-do lists, they now also have to worry about keeping their staff and customers safe from the novel coronavirus. If an employee contracts the virus, what processes are in place? What needs to happen to keep the virus from spreading? Does the business have to close? These are the types of questions business owners have been asking for months, and they are important. As is now readily apparent, contact tracing is an invaluable tool that businesses can use to stay open and safe during the pandemic. These are some of the ways that our services can help. Keep Track of Employee Status Businesses in every industry are doing their best to keep the doors open and the lights on. What that means for employees is an increased risk of contracting the virus. If an employee contracts the virus, comes into contact with someone who has tested positive, or shows symptoms, it is important to …

How Does a Medical Scribe Help a Physician? Top 3 Things to Recognize

So many medical professionals have mixed feelings about the use of electronic health records. On one hand, it improves access to care and offers financial incentives by Medicare and Medicaid. On the other, it can also cause financial issues, changes in workflow, potential privacy and security issues, and loss of productivity and efficiency. While you can enlist a medical scribe to help, you may wonder, “How does a medical scribe help a physician?” Medical scribes first started in the emergency rooms to have the most efficient workflow due to the emergency standpoint but over the past 10 years it has accelerated to all medical specialties directly due to the EHR implementation. There are 3 main points as to how a medical scribe can help a physician — from monetary to non-monetary values. How does a medical scribe help a physician? #1: Lower Stress & Burnout Rates The number one way that medical scribes help a physician is by reducing the stress that cumbersome tasks bring, mainly those associated with completing medical documentation. Due to the implementation of electronic health records (EHR), which was formulated more as a billing tool, physicians now are spending 2/3 of their day documenting rather than …

We Offer More Than Scribe Services: Here’s How We Can Help You Overcome COVID-19

The United States COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to hit record numbers as the cases topped 200,000 for the third time this week. Even more worrying for U.S. citizens is the first case of a new, fast-spreading variant of COVID-19, which was just reported in Colorado on Tuesday, December 29th, 2020 (https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/covid-2020-12-30). Once we all get back to work from the holiday break, how can organizations handle the constant contact tracing and the additional workload that COVID-19 and the flu season have brought on? What about keeping track of who is vaccinated and who isn’t? Our scribe services, contact tracing, and healthcare screening programs are designed to help answer these questions. How Do Scribe Services and Contact Tracing Help Your Staff? We founded Scrivas as a scribe service company focusing on reducing physician burnout by helping to alleviate the burden of the documentation tasks associated with the implementation of EHR systems. Our scribe service workforce has pivoted to fill essential roles as CoVid Contact Tracers and frontline CoVid Facility Screeners, alleviating the burden of this newly defined essential role for companies and schools that are being stretched by these new processes. Scrivas’ complete COVID Exposure Management Service leverages the latest technology combined …

COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives as we all knew it for close to 10 months now. For the first few months, there was a higher number of people that took the precautions of social distancing, wearing masks, and following the other health guidelines with due diligence. Over the months, though, more and more people have become tired of the new way of life. Some have gotten the virus and had a mild case, so they feel they are “fine” now to go out, and others began to believe they had a strong enough immune system and would be “fine” if they got it at all. These shifts in beliefs have caused what some experts are calling, “COVID fatigue”- an exhaustion from social distancing, wearing masks, and following the other health guidelines. “Anytime we’re in an advanced state of awareness for a prolonged period of time, our bodies slip into a ‘fight or flight’ response,” noted Glenn Armstrong, a nurse practitioner and lead APP with Kettering Network Behavioral Health. “Humans are social beings by nature, and when we take that away, it creates a drain on the human condition. And with that comes a cluster of symptoms.” These symptoms …

How to have a COVID-19 safe holiday season

COVID-19 can easily be spread from person to person during traditional holiday activities such as shared meals and large family gatherings indoors. The 3 c’s of COVID-19 danger: crowds, closed environments, and close contact will be a huge factor in having another surge due to the holiday season. What is the good news then? The good news is that there are still plenty of reduced-risk activities for family and friends to enjoy. There are many aspects to think about when planning for the holidays: Stay home if you are not feeling well. If you have symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, seek medical advice at your local physician’s office or by virtual visit. ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html ) Symptoms of COVID-19: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache New loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea Emergency signs of COVID-19– Seek emergency medical care immediately: Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to walk or stay awake Bluish lips or face Think outside the box for holiday gatherings. If family or friends can’t join physically, try setting up a family …

Parents and schools working together during covid

How Parents And Schools Can Work Together During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on students, their families, educators, and the school’s mental health workforce. The significant and known short- and long-term harm to the students, in particular, that is attributed to closed schools include, but are not limited to, emotional, social, behavioral health and academic achievement. The American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) have recognized that education, including school attendance, is essential for successful and healthy development for all children and adolescents. According to a recent JAMA Pediatrics report, young children can potentially drive the COVID-19 spread within the general population. Behavioral habits of young children and close quarters in schools and daycare settings raise concern for COVID-19 amplification for communities as public health restrictions are eased. Reopening, and maintaining the doors open, of all schools during a pandemic is new territory for everyone, and the children and their parents are likely to experience even more stress and anxiety as the school year begins and continues than ever before. Guiding the parents during the transition to returning their children to school is necessary for a smooth school year. Possible steps school administrators and the mental health workforce …

COVID-19 Infected Employee Taking Temperatures At Work

Guiding Your COVID-19 Infected Employee

Time is of the essence when an employee or patron is found to be symptomatic or comes in contact with a known COVID-19 exposure. It is imperative to have updated strategies for your staff to help prevent and reduce transmission among the other employees. This can be done by following existing and updated recommendations by federal, state, and local public health sectors and following the 5 step guide below. Employers should identify a qualified employee that will be responsible for any COVID related issues & concerns and help to develop and implement a response plan with regards to infection control preparedness. When an employee becomes symptomatic and/or comes in contact with a confirmed case, you should instruct that person to self-quarantine at home until released by a physician or public health official. The qualified employee should refer the case and/or contact to the CDC guidelines noted here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html After being informed that the employee has been exposed, is symptomatic or diagnosed with COVID-19, the qualified employee from step one should quickly identify all other employees who might have been in contact during the employee’s infection time period starting 2 days prior to symptom onset. The qualified employee should reach out …

The Twofold Blow: The Ongoing Struggle of Physician Burnout amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every other healthcare news article was focused on another overwhelming health crisis: physician burnout. Burnout has not diminished but actually intensified since the pandemic. Why is Physician Burnout Higher Than Ever? Physicians with the highest percentage of burnout, such as critical care medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine [1] are now required to take on an extra burden. Due to the virus, the overall number of available physicians and healthcare workers is lower because of infection, quarantine, and even death. The worldwide shortages of personal protective gear and inadequate testing have increased their chances of contracting the virus, which compounds the stress they feel in their profession. How Can We Help? Healthcare Administrators need to take action on the underlying issue. According to the Forbes article, “Doctor, Health Thyself: Physician Burnout in The Wake of COVID-19,” Dr. Lipi Roy noted 6 strategies that may actually lower the wave of physician burnout and suicide: [2] 1) Reduce administrative burdens Physicians have lost control over how their time is spent, from the time allotted for each patient, what is discussed during the visit, and how the visit itself is documented. Reducing the time spent on the EMR …

Covid-19 workflow response. Woman at computer wearing a mask.

Scrivas’ COVID-19 Workflow Response

Since the advent of COVID-19, we have needed to adapt how we live and work not only in our everyday lives but in our work environment as well. At Scrivas, we recognize the importance of these changes to protect not just the patients we serve but the healthcare teams that we work with as well as their families. As such, we have developed a COVID-19 workflow response. As nonclinical healthcare team members, we feel we serve an essential purpose at the sides of the physicians we work with. As the number of positive cases increase, there will be increased pressure on healthcare teams to see more patients per hour — both with potential COVID-19 patients and higher acuity patients who have waited for evaluation out of fear of potential exposure. Scribes: Continue to provide valuable documentation services, allowing physicians to focus on their patients. Continue to be educated on all COVID-19 workflow documentation requirements. Help physicians reduce their interaction with computers and other electronic devices, limiting exposure and potentially saving on turnover of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, which can save both time and resources. Adapt to the changing needs of sites we serve. Our team continues to look …

Clinician stress is increasing during covid-19. Picture of emergency room.

How to Alleviate Clinician Stress in a Busy Hospital During COVID-19

The CDC website is displaying updated numbers for COVID-19 cases every day. The numbers are climbing. Quickly. This is leading clinicians to work long hours inside a busy hospital or healthcare clinic. What’s being lost in this entire crisis is the overwhelm our physicians are facing. Clinician stress is on the rise. They are working long hours with little protection from the virus, putting their lives in danger. It’s clear that there is a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) amongst U.S. hospitals. That misfortune is cycling through media networks nationwide and we need an answer. More than ever, healthcare organizations are finding that their employees are overworked and in need of support. Physician burnout is trickling down to nurse burnout. Even the ancillary staff is feeling the effects as a sterile environment is more important now than ever. Our trained medical scribes are no stranger to a busy hospital. Scrivas is ready to step up to the plate and help alleviate the clinician stress that’s almost certainly spreading through your organization and its employees. Documentation is the last thing you’re worried about Patient care comes first. As an organization founded by a clinical team, we know all about this. …