Virtual Medical Scribe - Everything You Need to Know
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With the growing demands on modern healthcare practices, medical professionals need to streamline and modernize their administrative processes to keep up. Many practitioners have considered employing in-office medical scribes to improve patient visits and assist with admin backlogs, but there are several advantages to choosing a virtual medical scribe instead.
This article explains the role of a virtual medical scribe, highlights their potential benefits, and offers tips for implementing virtual scribing in your practice.
What are virtual medical scribes?
Virtual medical scribes play a similar role to in-person medical scribes, taking notes, recording test results, and providing administrative support to medical professionals during patient visits. A virtual medical scribe allows healthcare providers to spend more time interacting directly with patients.
Rather than being physically present during patient visits, a virtual medical scribe works remotely using audio and video conferencing software. In some practices, they may also work from recordings of patient visits in a process known as asynchronous scribing. The virtual scribing approach often improves patient comfort and overall visit outcomes, as only the patient and healthcare provider are present for the assessment.
What does a virtual medical scribe do?
Similar to an in-person medical scribe, a virtual medical scribe provides several valuable services:
Visit documentation. Virtual medical scribes document all aspects of the patient visit, including medical histories and exam findings.
Real-time transcription. By offering real-time transcription during synchronous scribing, patients and healthcare providers can quickly review key details at the moment.
Medical billing and coding. Virtual medical scribes are also trained in medical billing and coding to coordinate with health insurance providers.
Patient charting. Scribes update electronic health records with symptoms, diagnoses, and other relevant data from each visit.
Ensure privacy. Patients often feel more comfortable speaking with their healthcare providers alone, even if the visit is recorded or transmitted to a virtual medical scribe. Scribes must maintain the same level of patient confidentiality as any medical staff.
Benefits of virtual medical scribes for healthcare providers
Improved efficiency and productivity
The most obvious benefits of a virtual medical scribe are found in overall workflow efficiency. Many doctors and primary care providers experience extreme job stress due to the multiple demands of patient care and proper documentation, which can lead to burnout and negative impacts on patient outcomes.
Instead of switching back and forth between patient care and documentation, providers can focus exclusively on patient care while still receiving up-to-date notes, records, and billing information courtesy of the virtual scribe. Healthcare providers can leave the office after their patient visits are finished without needing to log additional time after hours to complete administrative tasks.
Enhanced patient experience
Patients have a much more satisfactory visit when they feel their healthcare providers are focused exclusively on their needs. This benefit works for both parties, as the healthcare provider does not need to split their attention between multiple tasks, which can improve overall patient health outcomes.
Working with a virtual scribe instead of an in-person scribe also improves patient comfort, as the scribe is not physically present during patient visits. Many people are uncomfortable discussing medical issues with anyone other than their primary care provider, so a virtual scribe offers providers all the productivity benefits without impacting the patient experience.
Cost-effective solution
Due to the remote nature of their work, virtual medical scribes are also more affordable than in-person scribes. Instead of devoting physical space within the practice for the scribe and their equipment, all space is available for in-person care. There are many medical scribing companies with trained staff available, further reducing up-front costs and deployment time.
Working with a medical scribing company allows you to scale their use up or down depending on the needs of your practice. During particularly busy periods, your practice will still have access to all the scribes necessary to handle your workload, and you can reduce staffing costs once demand returns to normal levels.
Types of virtual medical scribes
There are two types of virtual medical scribes: traditional virtual scribing and asynchronous virtual scribing. Each type has benefits and drawbacks, so you should explore both options before deciding on the best fit for your practice.
Traditional virtual scribing
Traditional virtual scribing, also known as synchronous scribing, functions in a very similar way to traditional in-person scribing. The virtual scribe uses audio or video conferencing software to listen to patient visits as they occur. They may be tasked with providing real-time transcription for each visit, although this is not always necessary, depending on the nature of the visit.
The primary benefit of synchronous scribing is the speed at which follow-up actions occur. Because the scribe has been updating patient records and handling coding and billing information in real-time during the visit, referrals for testing and visits with other care providers are ready as soon as the visit is completed.
While traditional scribing helps speed the process, some patients may not be comfortable discussing their problems with anyone other than their primary care provider. If your practice regularly deals with sensitive health issues, your patients may prefer that you work with an asynchronous scribe.
Asynchronous scribing (virtual scribe assistant)
Asynchronous scribing provides many of the same productivity benefits as synchronous scribing. These scribes work directly from audio or video recordings made during patient visits instead of listening in real-time. Other than this difference, both types of scribes share the same responsibilities for documenting patient visits, updating medical records, and other administrative tasks.
This type of scribing offers two potential benefits over synchronous scribing: lower costs and improved patient comfort. Because the scribe doesn't need to be available at a specific time, they are often more affordable than a synchronous scribe. Patients may also find it easier to discuss sensitive health issues without feeling as though a third party is listening in on their private patient visit.
The only drawback to working with an asynchronous scribe is processing speed. As these scribes work from recordings instead of listening to a live visit in real-time, there is an unavoidable time delay before the scribe can complete required actions such as updating records or processing billing information.
How to implement virtual scribing in your practice
Choosing the right scribe provider
While each practice has different requirements, some universal factors should be considered during the implementation process:
Relevant domain experience. Each area of the healthcare system requires unique knowledge, so you should choose a scribe provider with employees trained in your specific area of expertise. A medical scribe comfortable working in mental health may not be well-suited to a neuropathology clinic, and vice versa.
Regulatory compliance. Ensure that you choose a company that is certifiably compliant with all applicable laws and regulations, such as HIPAA and California's CCPA.
Data security. To help protect your patient information, only consider companies that follow best data security practices, such as independent security audits, ISO 27001 standards, and SOC 2 certification. They should also use communication channels and data storage with a minimum of 256-bit AES encryption.
Flexibility. Depending on the nature of your practice, you may want to choose a company that offers synchronous and asynchronous scribing options so you can select the level of service you require on a case-by-case basis.
Cost. Most scribe services charge between $10-$30 per hour depending on complexity, while others provide daily, monthly, or per-clinic rates for larger practices with multiple locations. Choosing the right pricing model can increase your cost savings.
Setting up the necessary technology
Your practice must also meet the basic technical requirements of the virtual scribing process:
Reliable internet access. Whether your scribes are working from recordings or real-time streams, reliable broadband internet access is an essential requirement.
Secure communication channels. Scribing services may recommend specific software designed for secure communication in compliance with patient data handling regulations like HIPAA. However, they may not provide IT support for installing and configuring these apps.
Recording devices. Your practice will need to purchase, install, and configure recording devices that are capable of capturing patient visits in high quality.
Access to practice records. For your virtual scribe to update patient records, schedule follow-up appointments, and perform other essential tasks, they will need secure remote access to practice and patient records.
Use Notta's AI transcription tool to quickly and easily transcribe audio and videos. We guarantee accuracy and ease of use.
Privacy and security considerations
Many healthcare providers are understandably cautious about patient data privacy when working with virtual scribes. However, the growing popularity of virtual scribing services has also led to greater attention to patient data security practices. Scribes use secure HIPAA-compliant communication platforms and remote file access to handle all patient data, as facilitated by the scribe service provider.
As long as you choose a scribe provider that complies with all relevant local laws and data security regulations, you can look forward to an enhanced patient experience, fewer documentation tasks, and reduced administrative overhead.
How Notta fits in with virtual scribing
Notta offers AI-powered transcription with up to 98% accuracy and support for 58 languages, which can dramatically speed up the work of any virtual scribe. With support for real-time transcription and pre-recorded audio and video files, Notta can provide transcription support for synchronous or asynchronous scribing. While it can't replace the discretion and contextual knowledge of a human scribe, it's an invaluable tool for enhancing the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of virtual scribing.
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