Medical Scribe
Job Description
A medical scribe plays an important role in the day-to-day duties of physicians. Since physicians must focus on direct patient contact and care, they need someone to help document patient visits and take care of clerical responsibilities.
Medical scribes relieve the documentation overload on physicians and gather information on the patient's visit.
A background in medical scribing is quickly becoming the standard for students in pre-medical programs that want to become physicians or physician assistants.
Now, medical schools suggest their candidates work as medical scribes before going to medical school.
With new standards, the competition to become a medical scribe is intense, and the demand for medical scribe services across the country is growing more every year.
Responsibilities
A medical scribe's primary duties are to follow a physicians through his or her work day and chart patient encounters in real-time using a medical office's electronic health record (EHR).
Medical scribes also generate referral letters for physicians, manage and sort medical documents within the EHR system, and assist with e-prescribing.
Medical scribes are basically data care managers enabling physicians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care during clinic hours.
Medical scribes free up a physician's time by handling data management tasks, so the physician can increase their patient contact time, think more thoroughly about cases, manage patient flow, and increase overall productivity.
Skills
| Communication | Must be able to clearly convey thoughts and ideas to doctors and patients. Must be able to take information and record patient visits to help physicians. |
| Computer Skills | Must be able to use electronic charting methods hospitals utilize (electronic health records). Must be able to type at a high level as well and organize information on a computer. |
| Critical Thinking | Must use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Multitasking | Must take on many tasks at once and help physicians balance their workloads. You might have to take down patient records, deal with clerical obligations, and help with e-documents, so you need to be able to balance all of your daily tasks. |
| Punctuality | Being on time is important, because you will work alongside physicians and since their time is important, you being on time is super important. They need you to help them manage tasks throughout a day, so if you're not their, they can't take care of all the things they need to. |
| Time Management | Must be able to balance work and school, as you will most likely do this job while in college. |
| Trustworthiness | Must be trustworthy because you have to keep patient histories and make sure records are correct. You also help with e-prescriptions, so you must make sure everything is correct so you don't hurt people. |
Working Conditions
A medical scribe can work on-site at a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility, or they can work remotely from a HIPAA-secure facility.
Medical scribes who work at an off-site location are known as virtual medical scribes and normally work in clinical settings. Some can even work from home.
Most medical scribes work part time for 2 years in about 8-12 shifts per month, or full time for 1 year in about 16-20 shifts per month.
They can work in a hectic environment, running around with physicians, documenting patient visits and taking care of clerical tasks.
Salary Outlook
| Estimated Annual Salary | Average Hourly Wage | Positions Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| $38,860.00 | $18.68 | 184,740 |