Have you ever wanted someone to record your words as you say them, completely eliminating the daunting task of writing everything down? With hand written documentation becoming obsolete, Doctors are becoming more creative as to how they can utilize Electronic Health Record software. Doctors are having a difficult time staying engaged with their patients while recording vital information which is causing what is referred to as “professional burnout”. The solution to their problem? Scribes.
Scribes can be described as the shadow of a Doctor. They record the entire encounter a Doctor has with a patient from start to finish. Dr. Jey, a Sutter General ER Doctor, describes these scribes as “ninjas because of their unobtrusive nature and quick-thinking abilities”. If a Doctor is evaluating a patient, you will find a Scribe in the room observing and documenting all of the important information in medical terms while complimenting his or her provider’s note taking “style” and workflow.
You may be thinking, do scribes need a medical background to properly record what the Doctor and patient are saying? And you’re right. Scribes that are employed by hospitals are typically post-graduates that are applying for medical school. Hannah Chan, a 23-year-old UC Berkeley alum, has been working as a scribe for over a year and a half at the Sutter Medical Center. Her previous experiences are no comparison to the valuable experiences she is gaining now. “I get to get into the brain of the doctor and really understand what they’re doing”.
With scribes in hospitals, Doctors are killing two birds with one stone. Providers have the ability to maintain focus on their patients while inadvertently training future Doctors on medical terminology to determine not only the “what” but also the “why” of diagnoses and medical other components of the patient’s medical record.
RXNT|EHR offers a cloud-based solution that can help Doctors and scribes successfully document crucial patient data. With a e-Prescribing solution, RXNT|ERX, that seamlessly integrates with RXNT|EHR, Doctors have a full suite of solutions to run large hospitals to small practices while avoiding penalties from states that have mandated use of EHRs in specific settings.
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