Medical scribes could help solve the issue of physician burnout and ease the electronic health record (EHR) documentation burden, based on a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
According to the study, researchers conducted a yearlong investigation with 18 primary care physicians at two medical centers with integrated healthcare systems. The investigation focused on if the use of a medical scribe would ease the EHR documentation burden, improve patient visits and work efficiency.
For three-month periods, the physicians alternated between working with and without a medical scribe for their EHR documentation. At the end of each period, physicians completed a survey about their experience. At the end of the entire investigation, patients also shared their thoughts.
Based on their responses, physicians seemingly had better experiences with patients and EHR documentation when working with a medical scribe.
According to the study, when compared to non-scribed periods, scribed periods were associated with decreased off-hour EHR documentation work and more patient interaction during visits. Ninety-four percent of physicians said they experienced greater job satisfaction and 89 percent said they experienced improved clinical interactions when assisted by scribes.
Fifty-seven percent of patients reported their physicians spent less time than usual on the computer during scribed periods, while 37.2 percent reported no difference and 6.2 percent reported more time on the computer than usual.
Eighty-eight percent of physicians also said they were satisfied with the quality of their scribe’s EHR documentation, while 65 percent of the physicians said they would accept more patients into their panel in exchange for a full-time scribe.
Additionally, 49.8 percent of patients reported that their physicians spent more time than usual speaking with them during scribed periods. About 61 percent of patients reported the scribe had a positive bearing on their visit, and just 2.4 percent reported the scribe had a negative bearing.
“Addressing physician burnout is critical to control the impending PCP (primary care physician) shortage crisis. Although physician burnout is a multifaceted and complex issue, there is increasing evidence associating EHR adoption with increasing burnout rates,” the study concluded. “Our results suggest that the use of scribes may be one strategy to mitigate the increasing EHR documentation burden among PCPs, who are at the highest risk of burnout among physicians.”
Danielle covers Clinical Innovation & Technology as a senior news writer for TriMed Media. Previously, she worked as a news reporter in northeast Missouri and earned a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's also a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls.