ai medical scribe

AI Medical Scribe? On The Future of Medical Scribing

The profession of medical scribing has undergone extensive and significant transformations in recent years, as healthcare continues to mold itself into an advancing technological world. As we begin seeing various industries and professions shaken up by transformative and often disruptive advancements, it is essential to speculate on how the role of medical scribes, especially in the context of AI medical scribe, may evolve. When looking deeper into these disruptive technological advancements, the improvements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation appear to be the most convincingly altering developments impacting the role of medical scribes. With a booming field and now coined as “the latest craze in healthcare” by various health journals, AI continues to advance, and companies are increasingly eager to learn how AI can not only save corporations money but also develop a more efficient workforce. Speculations on whether AI will essentially dissolve numerous jobs are still far-fetched, almost seeming to come straight from the latest Hollywood movie. However, utilizing AI as an augmentation to the current workforce is currently happening in real time. We can expect to see a more profound integration of these technologies into the daily workflow of medical scribes. AI tools could be designed to assist …

medical scribe training

Medical Scribe Training: A Look into the Scrivas Didactic Training Program

John Dewey states, “education is not preparation for life, but rather, education is life itself.” Scrivas holds these values in true form by providing a robust three-day didactic training program to ensure all incoming scribes, regardless of prior educational background, are fully prepared to enter the healthcare workforce. The didactic program is one that Scrivas takes pride in, and understands that it is the true force behind what makes Scrivas one of the premier medical scribing companies in South Florida.  In the dynamic and complex landscape of healthcare, the role of medical scribes has become increasingly integral. These highly trained individuals assist healthcare providers in documenting patient encounters, assisting with clerical tasks in a variety of healthcare settings, and ensuring accurate and comprehensive medical records are developed in an efficient and timely manner. A didactic program for medical scribes is incredibly valuable, as most medical scribes are poised to use this role as an entrance point to the healthcare world; a world that requires sharp skills and an overwhelming amount of knowledge. This article explores the importance of structured education and training for individuals entering the healthcare field, specifically focusing on medical scribe training. Medical Scribe Training: A Look into …

Medical Scribes and Artificial Intelligence: Why Medical Scribes are Still a Necessity in Every Healthcare Organization

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there; speaking up loudly and demanding to speak to a representative only to be followed with “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” Or having to profusely press “0” on the keypad until you’re transferred to the next representative (even more horrific enough, sometimes transferred to another automated system), or the classic Alexa and Siri obediently following a command making life as seamless as possible, only that you didn’t even utter a single word and are now desperately trying to fix a mess that didn’t need to be created by trying to turn the volume down on your sound system late into the evening.   Artificial intelligence (AI) and technology have been made to make the lives of everyone easier and more seamless as it becomes more integrated into our daily routine. AI has also become increasingly popular in the healthcare field as a means to augment the patient experience while also reducing the burden of the provider with a host of tasks. However, technology and automation with AI sometimes slow down our goals and it can be quite frustrating having to pick the pieces back up from something that should have made things easier, …

What Do Medical Scribes That Are Now in the Workforce Say About Their Time in Scrivas?

The path to a healthcare-related career often requires a precursor, or some sort of experience to better prepare oneself for the exciting challenges to be faced. A career as a medical scribe provides a wealth of knowledge and intangible experiences worthy of anyone interested in stepping foot inside a hospital setting. Here are some amazing things that some former medical scribes who are now active in the healthcare field have to say about their time as a medical scribe:   Quote:   “Being a medical scribe was a very valuable experience for me during my path through medical school and residency into becoming a hospital medicine physician. Learning various medical terminology, how to obtain information from patients, and how to document both quickly and effectively on an EMR lessened the learning curve immensely. The high-intensity nature of the emergency department also made me comfortable in high-acuity settings as a physician.   I truly felt that I was as prepared as anyone could be during medical school rotations and then residency. Additionally, I found moments in my training where I didn’t go back to what I learned from my countless hours of studying textbooks, but rather the experiences that I had …

healthcare providers

How Medical Scribes Assist with the Recruitment of Healthcare Providers for Your Organization

With the demand for physicians and mid-level healthcare providers increasing, but the amount of applicants and actual providers decreasing, the market for acquiring talent has been increasingly difficult for many organizations. To make matters worse, a study by McKinsey shows nearly half (48%) of people are leaving their current jobs and moving to an entirely new industry. Worldwide, only 35% who quit in the last two years took on a new role in the same sector. With this large amount of turnover, partially due to burnout from COVID-19, and lowered prospective providers, talent acquisition teams throughout all healthcare organizations have been working harder and becoming more creative with reeling in talent.   There are numerous creative pitches being thrown at healthcare providers, with some organizations providing simple perks that may move the needle slightly forward. One perk, however, has not only been a special leverage mechanism for recruiters but also a perk that’s often sought out by prospective employees. Imagine hearing the following creative pitch, which essentially asks a prospective employee to decide whether they would be interested in the following scenario: “How would you like to come to work and leave on time? How would you like to have …

Medical scribe helping with data collection.

Medical Scribes as a Tool for Clinical Research and Data Collection

The Modernization of healthcare has greatly amplified the need to leverage data across all healthcare organizations. Not a single click on a computer screen goes unrecorded as it is quickly stored to be part of the vast and complex healthcare ecosystem, later to be utilized as a potential decision that will impact a patient’s life. The numbers and fields of information are all around us; from the moment the sensor of the hospital entrance flickers to note an incoming patient, to the moment a patient checks in and registers their information, and right back to the moment they exit and revisit that very same sensor that checked them in. There are the more obvious points of data that can be found in our computer systems that provide great information, but it truly takes an expert in data analytics to think beyond systems and define areas of opportunities when gathering information.   Like an individual standing by a pool filled with thousands of different types of fish; it only becomes valuable if the individual knows how to actually fish. Similar is the conundrum that many healthcare organizations face. Organizations may be aware of the data that’s surrounding them, but do they truly understand …

medical scribes support

Medical Scribes and Their Support for Training

William Pollard, the chairman of Fairwyn Investment Company describes the importance of having appropriate methods of training by stating “Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.” Training in the field of healthcare is not just a one-off occurrence or a single day of orientation, but rather, it’s an ongoing process that ensures healthcare professionals are fully equipped to provide safe, high-quality care in a complex and evolving world. Appropriate training in the healthcare realm is the cornerstone of ensuring quality patient care, safety, and developing trust within the entire healthcare system.   Ensuring optimal standards of training are established in every healthcare facility is highly imperative, especially given the numerous risks that arise when these standards aren’t met. For example, according to research from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) 2019 “State of Healthcare Training” report, Healthcare employees used an annual average of 25.5 learning hours, which is significantly less than the average of all other fields by almost 10 hours. Not only does this report show the lack of training hours for healthcare professionals, but …

Man gaining qualifications for medical scribes with a patient.

Training and Qualifications for Medical Scribes

What training do medical scribes get? What are the qualifications for medical scribes? Find out in this blog.   Medical scribes are medical professionals, who provide quality documentation services and support providers with numerous clerical and administrative tasks as a means to reduce provider burnout and promote cost-effective solutions to healthcare practices. Medical scribes often shadow one or a few providers during real-time patient encounters and document past medical and family history, social history, physical examination, results, diagnosis, and discharge processes. Along with documentation services, medical scribes may also assist with numerous clerical tasks that providers are often burdened with, such as sending call-outs, coordinating care with other providers, and even tracking patient results.   Although becoming a medical scribe does not require a specific certification or degree, most medical scribes are equipped with several hundreds of hours of on-site training. In conjunction with the training, medical scribes typically earn or are working toward a professional level of education in a healthcare career.   Gaining Qualifications for Medical Scribes Application and Hiring Phase:   When prospective medical scribes apply for a position initially, they are met with uniquely tailored questions to ensure they are able to commit to providing documentation …

Two nurses talking at the registration desk. Learning how to work as a medical scribe requires communication and collaboration.

How to Work as a Medical Scribe: Collaboration Between Scribes and Healthcare Professionals

Learning how to work as a medical scribe in collaboration with other healthcare professionals requires the desire to overcome a lot of obstacles. Here’s what to expect.   The hospital can be a very loud and busy setting for anyone. Imagine several healthcare workers speed walking across the halls while giving updates on their latest case, phone lines buzzing for a consult request, and the constant echo of a nearby code alert from the PA system above; it’s almost impossible to believe all the communication efforts taking place in that same hospital.   Amidst all of the bright fluorescent lights, the ceaseless beeping of blood pressure monitors, and the constant sounds of keyboards being punched in warp speed, there is a system of communication established that has stood the test of time even in the most imposing of settings.   How to Work as a Medical Scribe in Collaboration with Other Healthcare Professionals   In the middle of collaboration, medical scribes may play a larger role in communicating with various healthcare personnel than one might believe.   Medical scribes often function as an appendage to the physician by tracking a patient even before the physician toggles their name next to …

Healthcare career: A nurse treating a patient

5 Ways Being a Medical Scribe Prepares You for Healthcare Career

A healthcare career can be quite compelling to anyone interested in the pursuit of knowledge, compassion, and unwavering opportunities. Sir William Osler states the following on healthcare professionals: “Let me congratulate you on the choice of calling which offers a combination of intellectual and moral interests found in no other profession.” As one of the largest and fastest-growing fields in the nation, there’s no question that a career in healthcare can lead to great opportunities. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations; this increase is expected to result in about 2 million new jobs over the decade.   With the increase in demand for careers in the healthcare field, it’s highly imperative for those intrigued by this area of service to not only confirm whether this path is truly for them but also to ensure they’re fully prepared for a role in healthcare. Exploring a career as a medical scribe is a great route to take to be better prepared for an exciting career in the healthcare field.   5 Ways Becoming a Medical …

Healthcare providers discussing a patient's file.

3 Critical Tips for Healthcare Providers Working with Medical Scribes

The minds of healthcare providers operate much like your typical software computing system. In one sense, the average person only understands the various outputs of information provided and the front-end design of the system. However, what we don’t see in those systems and providers alike are the hundreds of thousands of decision points being processed internally. From managing numerous critical patients at a time, running through a long list of differential diagnoses for the patient in front of them, tracking lab results for the patients that have been seen, and being ready to take on the next person being brought in at any point in time, the average workday of a provider can feel overburdened and distracted from what’s most important: providing quality care.   Thankfully, with their inclusion in the healthcare field, medical scribes are not only able to provide efficient and effective charting, but they’re also capable of reducing the stressors and burdens of the provider by acting as an extension of their unnecessarily crowded minds.   The role of a medical scribe extends much further than just providing real-time documentation services. Medical scribes can be seen as the “Swiss Army Knife” of the healthcare field, as they …

Scribing as a path to a career in healthcare.

How Medical Scribing Led Me to a Career in Healthcare

Scribing is a great entry point for anyone interested in learning about working in a health setting. Here’s how medical scribing helped one professional realize their path toward a career in healthcare. Doug Cooper eloquently states, “A major life decision is never a choice but rather a realization that the decision has already been made.” For me, the decision to help those in need was already embedded in my mind before I could even decide on an exact career path. While I was growing up, whenever someone asked me what I wanted to do as an adult, my immediate response was always, “healthcare.” The answer typically netted a few smiles with nods of validation. It wasn’t until I was filling out my college applications when my brother, a medical scribe turned physician assistant, replied with, “Yeah, but what in healthcare?” I didn’t have an answer for him, and even more daunting, I never really realized how robust the healthcare field was. I knew going into college I had to get my foot into the door of a hospital and truly investigate firsthand what the world of healthcare had to offer. Fortunately, through a career booth at my university, I was …

Improving patient satisfaction using scribes.

Scribes May Be the Key to Improving Patient Satisfaction and Provider Care

Scribes are of vital importance at a time when improving patient satisfaction and provider care are critical for the success of every healthcare facility. Much like anything else in today’s world, the realm of healthcare is fast paced, constantly changing, and in dire need of adaptability. Consumers are better equipped with health-related knowledge and rightfully demand a tailored approach to their care. As the gap between consumers’ health-related knowledge and their providers’ expertise closes in, the gap between level of care and patient satisfaction widens. Given this current climate, healthcare administrators and providers alike are scrambling to find the right innovative paths to ensure high-quality care meets high customer expectations.   Improving Patient Satisfaction While Maintaining High-Quality Care with Scribes   The path to improving patient satisfaction and providing high-quality care is not necessarily another costly integrated technological solution or redundant change in process design but rather a single mediator who allows for an open and transparent conversation between patient and provider. These mediators serve as medical scribes and play an imperative role in improving communication between patients and healthcare providers. In fact, “evidence suggests medical scribes may improve clinician satisfaction, productivity, time-related efficiencies, revenue, and patient-clinician interactions.” [1] Medical …

The Impact Scribing had on my Career By Sarah Caceres, MS,RN, BSN

The Impact Scribing had on my Career By Sarah Caceres, MS,RN, BSN

I was 22 years old and actively preparing to take the last finals of my undergraduate degree when it dawned on me, “Well, what now?” As Robert Burns once wrote, “The best-laid plans of men often go awry.” And here I was, about to embark on my post-graduate life, having scrapped my lifelong plans of becoming a physician, with no clear idea of what to do next. I had always known that I wanted to work in healthcare, but after realizing that I no longer wanted to attend medical school, I now needed to reassess my goals. A close friend suggested I apply to a local medical scribe company in Miami called Scrivas while I drew up a new plan, and so began my journey as a medical scribe. Working as a medical scribe afforded me many opportunities and advantages that continue to this day. As a medical scribe, I have been exposed to many different healthcare environments in both acute care and specialty care practices while working with adult and pediatric patients. When I wasn’t absorbing clinical approaches, techniques, or medical terminology, I was honing my skills in administration. I practiced my leadership skills by being responsive and proactive …

emergency medical scribe

Why ER Doctors Choose to Use an Emergency Medical Scribe

Why do ER doctors choose to utilize an emergency medical scribe during their shifts? This article explains a few reasons. Every person who is given an assignment, no matter the type of assignment—from schoolwork to tasks at work—is expected to be efficient while they are doing it. It is also an unwritten but expected notion that a person pursuing a career in Emergency Medicine is always expected to be “on point” and able to handle the stresses that come with the territory—all without complaining. No matter how well someone “multi-tasks”, one can only do so much during a shift. There have been cost-efficient and proven solutions for some time, but some have been slow to adopt due to the underlying sentiment that ER docs can (and should) handle anything coming their way. One proven solution is the use of an emergency medical scribe during an ER shift. Medical scribes have many benefits for emergency medicine physicians. Here are a few of the most compelling: Reports as early as the 1970s outline how the use of Medical Scribes has improved the efficiency and overall emergency department flow.[1]   A white paper written by the American College of Emergency Physicians concluded that Medical …

Happy doctor

A Happy Workforce Makes a Happy Doctor

A happy doctor is a productive doctor. Learn how scribes can help your physicians find more satisfaction at work and in their lives.   Throughout a person’s life, if they are “happy” in what they are partaking in, they put more effort and value into what they are doing. A person’s employment is no different, as a recent study showed, finding that happy workers are 13% more productive than people that are not.[1] The researchers also found that happy workers did not work more hours than their discontented colleagues – they were simply more productive within their time at work.[2]   In healthcare specifically, it is essential for the medical team to work together and stay as productive as possible. To achieve those two vital components, happiness must be taken into account. However, approximately 41% of physicians from a wide variety of specialties couldn’t even say they are “somewhat happy” in the recent “Medscape Physician Lifestyle & Happiness Report 2022.”[3]   Various stressors are causing this statistic to worsen over the years, all of them contributing to poor work-life balance. For example, a large majority of physicians are online up to 10 hours per week for work, and the number of …

Woman learning how to become a medical scribe

How to Become a Medical Scribe

Interested in learning how to become a medical scribe? Answer these questions, then see why it might be the right path for you! Are you interested in working in the medical field? Are you motivated, a fast typist, and a quick learner? Do you need shadowing and/or hands-on experience in or around physicians in the clinical setting? Are you currently pursuing a pre-med degree and want real-world experience in the medical field while working for a company that works around your school schedule?   If you said YES to any or all of the above, becoming a Medical Scribe is the right career path for you here at Scrivas! If you don’t believe me, believe a Medical Scribe doing this job at Scrivas currently:   “I came into this company (Scrivas) as a full-time student at FIU, and they were very accommodating to my schedule. The management team is personal and really cares about their employees. I have had the pleasure of working with this company for two years and have been able to rotate around different specialties, making connections in the healthcare field and learning about medicine. I recommend this company to any student trying to pursue a career …

Time management in healthcare

Time Management—When Is the Work Just Too Much?

Time management—a timeless notion for young people and adults alike who have the goal of organizing their tasks in a way that is mindful of the constraints of each day, whether the tasks are presented to them or taken on by that individual.   Answering the Time Management Question When what should and can be taken on throughout the years is added to the plate of some professionals, there has been an unwritten law: to find a means to the end. When this is mentioned the term “some” is not to note just the average person, but the type of person like a physician or allied health professional. One would ask why them but not another, although if you honestly come a professional that could persevere through the challenging studies of pre-health school work, post-grad work and work the long and difficult work shifts, day in and day out that makes the lamas person believe they can handle any added stress given to them.   What happens though, when the opposite happens? When someone who knows their limits and knows they can handle medical school, residency, and patient care but ends up taking on twice or more the work they …

burnout

Physician burnout by specialty: Who leads the pack?

Each year more and more research has come out to try and grab the attention of the public and the leaders in healthcare to the worsening epidemic that has been around much before the COVID pandemic. This epidemic was first noted in the early days of the 1970s [1] and from then swept the nation and has only worsened like a slight 21st-century plague–physician burnout plague, which, if not addressed, will be a detriment to patients, physicians, and the future of medicine alike.   Realizing this issue has been a continued issue of dismissive attention by the masses, the World Health Organization (WHO) came together back in 2019 to redefine the definition of burnout, now categorizing it as a “syndrome” that results from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.[2] Sadly, this change has not affected the rising epidemic as once hoped.   In the past two years, physicians and healthcare workers have dealt with more stress and unprecedented conditions due to the COVID pandemic, which has only exacerbated the problem. Physician burnout is not equal. Certain specialties are “more affected” by the larger causes than others, which one can guess could be due to the extreme circumstances …

physician scribe benefits

5 medical scribe benefits you may not have thought of…

Scribes do much more than transcription. Learn about more physician scribe benefits here. The United States continues to face a horrible projected physician workforce shortage over the next decade. The US Department of Health and Human Services projects a shortfall of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033 and a shortfall of 21,400 to 55,200 primary care physicians by 2033.[1] This shortage is due to aging physicians and physician burnout. Without a change in the burnout epidemic, the numbers can be more catastrophic. There are a number of tools healthcare administrators can implement that can help to alleviate the number 1,2 & 3 causes of burnout–the administrative, bureaucratic tasks, lack of respect from administrators/employers & too many hours at work.[2] One of the top ways to reduce these 3 issues is with medical scribes. When healthcare administrators remove their stigma about physician burnout and “hear” the physicians’ cries for help and find the tool to fix the issue, it can lead to physicians feeling that they are respected. Some administrators feel Medical Scribes are only “live transcribers.”  This is far from the truth. Medical scribes do much more than only transcribe what the physicians say. Medical scribes are like personal assistants …