A growing number of physicians are employing medical scribes to drive efficiency and reduce administrative burdens in their practices.
Recent studies have demonstrated medical scribes' abilities to improve both physician and patient satisfaction, minimize physician burnout, reduce physician documentation time and increase revenue.
However, they come with some pitfalls, including cost, cramped office spaces, training and, in some cases, patient discomfort.
Founded in 2014 by Tracy Rue, Skywriter MD, aims to boost provider efficiency and productivity levels through virtual scribes, offered at approximately half the cost of medical scribes.
"We're taking the 'doc' out of 'documentation,'" said Al Villarin, MD, chief clinical strategy officer at Skywriter MD.
Frequent discussions revealed to Mr. Rue the "disdain" that some providers had for EHR systems.
"Physicians were being turned into data entry clerks," said Mr. Rue, who has 25 years of neurodiagnostic experience in hospital and outpatient settings. "I had one too many of those conversations and decided to try and solve this problem."
Skywriter MD is a software program that connects providers to real people. Several teams of U.S.-based "Skywriters" pursuing advanced medical degrees are located in college towns around the country, aiding providers with their data entry and administrative duties.
"That's the only demographic we hire," Mr. Rue said. "A young demographic on their way to some type of advanced medical degree. It's a win for both the providers as well as the students who gain clinical experience from a multitude of specialties aiding in their acceptance into their advanced degree of choice."
The software enables the virtual scribes to navigate EHRs and record data during patient encounters to improve accuracy and documentation safety. "Their training is with the EMRs but as they work with physicians, they pick up the vocabulary and nuances. They align workflow synergy and efficiency once they get to know the assigned clinicians," Dr. Villarin said.
The technology is designed to use audio recordings, so the real time scribe model isn't slowed when physicians repeat themselves and wait for the scribe to catch up. This enables physicians to move from one patient to another without waiting for the virtual scribe to finish the initial note.
Expediting virtual documentation support also reduces any onsite interference with the exam and maintains the safety of the Skywriter, specifically with coronavirus' current impact on the healthcare industry, according to Dr. Villarin.
"As physicians we are under great scrutiny, especially with social media, Google reviews and Healthgrades, etc. Often patients say the physician didn't pay attention to them," said Brian Gill, MD, spine surgeon at Nebraska Spine Hospital in Omaha and Skywriter MD board member.
"Skywriter MD allows physicians to sit down and interact with patients, without having to worry about all the paperwork. That is extremely helpful because it creates positive reviews not only for that physician but also for the health system. It creates efficiency so physicians can spend more time with patients and also see more patients. So, the volume increases as well," he added.
Currently, Skywriter MD is in a rapid growth mode with several health systems as current clients and many more in the pipeline. The board is anticipating 2020 to be a big year for strategic growth.
"Growth is the primary goal. With growth we create greater efficiencies for the U.S.-based Skywriter teams, which helps with security, costs, drives efficiencies and tries to get away from physical scribes so physicians can be more receptive to their patients," Dr. Gill said. "You free up physicians doing what they want to do and not the burdensome tasks of paperwork and EMR duties."