Updated: 12/6/2024
With documentation demands, rising patient volumes, and a growing focus on value-based care, clinicians face mounting pressures that extend far beyond the exam room. Consider this: providers spend nearly two hours on documentation for every hour of patient care, a workload that’s not only unsustainable but contributes to alarming burnout rates across the industry.
For many, online medical scribes – or remote medical scribes – have offered a lifeline, stepping in to ease the administrative burden and free up time for patient care. But as with any solution, they come with trade-offs – challenges in cost, consistency, and scalability – leaving practices to wonder: Are online medical scribes enough? Or is there a more advanced solution to consider?
What Are Online Medical Scribes?
Online medical scribes help providers by remotely documenting patient visits through secure audio or video connections. They gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering flexibility and continuity of care when in-person scribes weren't feasible.
While online scribes represented a step forward in medical documentation, they still rely on human labor and face limitations such as cost, training inconsistencies, and turnover. Despite these drawbacks, they remain an essential tool for many practices striving to manage rising documentation burdens.
Let’s dive into the pros and cons of online medical scribes.
Suggested Reading: What is a medical scribe?
Pros of Online Medical Scribes
Ease Clinician Workload
Just like in-person medical scribes, remote medical scribes reduce the administrative burden on clinicians by handling documentation tasks such as scribing notes, charting patient visits, and recording exam results. This allows healthcare providers to focus more on patient care without getting bogged down by paperwork.
Improved Documentation Quality
Online medical scribes help improve the accuracy and completeness of medical documentation by focusing exclusively on capturing details from the encounter. With specialized training in medical terminology and documentation standards, they ensure that records are precise, reducing errors that could affect patient care and freeing clinicians to focus more on clinical decision-making. Separating the clinician from the documentation process allows both the documentation and the care provided to reach a higher standard, ensuring better outcomes for patients.
Scalable & Flexible
Remote medical scribes offer unmatched scalability and flexibility, allowing practices to adjust support based on patient volume or staffing needs. Their remote nature enables seamless integration across multiple locations, providing consistent documentation without the logistical challenges of on-site staff. Whether scaling up during busy periods or scaling down to save costs, online scribes can adapt to clinical demands.
Reduced Intrusiveness
In-person scribes introduce a third-party presence in the exam room, which can create a sense of reduced privacy for patients and potentially hinder open communication. Online scribes eliminate this issue by working remotely, allowing providers to document patient encounters without a visible third party. This remote approach fosters a more comfortable environment for patients while maintaining accurate and detailed documentation.
Cost
Online medical scribes are a cost-effective alternative to traditional in-person scribes, offering significant savings for healthcare providers. Unlike in-person scribes, who often require additional overhead costs like workspace and training, online scribes operate remotely and at a fraction of the cost. On average, online scribes cost around $1,200 per month compared to the $4,200 per month typical of in-person scribes. This affordability allows practices to reduce expenses while still benefiting from professional documentation support, making online scribes an ideal solution for budget-conscious providers
Cons of Online Medical Scribes
Cost
Although cheaper than in-person scribes, online scribes still represent a significant recurring expense for clinicians, especially those at private practices. For smaller practices or those with tight budgets, the cost of maintaining an online scribe be still be prohibitive over time, especially when compared to other documentation solutions on the market.
Data Transmission and Security Risks
Online medical scribes work remotely, and in some cases overseas, which can introduce risks in transmitting sensitive patient data. Ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like HIPAA can be challenging, and providers must trust that scribes are handling data securely. These risks are evident in malpractice suits that find doctors at fault for mistakes made by online medical scribes.
Lack of Standardized Training
Online scribes are not required to meet universal training standards, which can introduce risks and result in varying documentation quality. This inconsistency can lead to documentation errors or incomplete records, potentially creating additional work for clinicians.
Turnover
Online medical scribes can experience high turnover rates, particularly when working through large scribe companies. Frequent turnover disrupts continuity and may require clinicians to repeatedly onboard new scribes.
Band-Aid Solution
Online medical scribes address the symptoms of the documentation burden by providing external support, but fail to solve the root issue: inefficient documentation workflows. While they help reduce some of the clerical tasks, the reliance on external support adds complexity to the process and doesn’t fundamentally streamline how medical documentation is captured, organized, or integrated into clinical workflows. Combined with inconsistencies and turnover, this piecemeal approach can leave practices reliant on temporary fixes rather than embracing long-term, scalable solutions that truly transform clinical documentation.
AI Medical Scribes: The Next Evolution in Documentation
Online medical scribes have provided crucial support for clinicians, but they leave room for improvement. AI medical scribes, powered by ambient intelligence, represent the next logical step in the evolution of medical documentation. These systems are transforming healthcare by automating the documentation and addressing many of the key challenges posed by online scribes.
Real-Time Documentation
AI scribes complete documentation during the patient encounter, eliminating post-visit work and enabling clinicians to focus on patient care.
Seamless EHR Integration
Unlike online scribes, which require manual data entry, AI scribes automatically populate notes and diagnoses directly into the EHR, reducing errors and saving time.
Specialty-Specific Adaptability
AI scribes are tailored to the unique needs of medical specialties, ensuring documentation reflects the nuances of each unique clinical workflow.
Cost-Effective and Scalable
Without the recurring costs of training or turnover, AI scribes offer a more scalable, affordable solution for practices of all sizes.
Customizable to Clinician Needs
Every clinician has their own way of charting. AI medical scribes adapt to individual workflows and preferences, ensuring documentation aligns with their unique style of care.
Clinical Decision Support
AI medical scribes provide real-time insights at the point of care, helping clinicians address key charting requirements and support better clinical decision-making. This ensures high-quality care while meeting regulatory and reimbursement standards.th
DeepScribe in Action: Real-World Impact
Ambient AI medical scribes like DeepScribe are already transforming healthcare by reducing the documentation burden and improving care quality. Here’s how DeepScribe is making a measurable impact:
- 75% reduction in documentation time for clinicians
- 1.6 minute chart closure time
- 34% increase in ICD10 codes
- 91% say it’s easy to use
Read more customer testimonials here.
Conclusion
Online medical scribes have provided critical support for clinicians, but their limitations leave gaps in addressing the documentation burden. AI medical scribes represent the future – offering scalable, secure, and customizable solutions that redefine documentation.
Discover how DeepScribe can transform your workflows and improve patient care. Request a demo today.
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