When most people imagine the duties of a doctor, they rarely ever consider the amount of paperwork that is necessary. For a doctor’s office or hospital to be functional, an extensive amount of records and paperwork is collected and stored. Paperwork is necessary in the medical field to avoid or fight against medical malpractice law suits. Medical records also play a large part in medical research. Recently, doctors have been hiring medical scribes to manage paperwork.
What is a Medical Scribe?
A medical scribe is an assistant to a doctor who specializes in record keeping, secretarial duties, or other non-clinical functions. They spend time collecting information from a doctor and transferring that information to paper or electronic record systems accurately. A scribe allows a doctor to spend more time with patients, administering tests, performing procedures, or communicating with staff.
Why are Medical Scribes Becoming Necessary?
The population continues to increase, and doctor’s are having more difficulty performing paperwork collection and maintenance while also giving their patients generous time and service. However, the medical scribe has relieved many doctors from the overwhelming task of managing paperwork. Medical scribes can also be helpful during changes in national health care systems. When paperwork policies change, scribes are responsible for completing and submitting paperwork properly.
How are Medical Scribes Trained?
Currently, there is no university or technical school which offers training for medical scribes. However, there are several online programs which offer an online medical scribe training course. These courses are not required to become a medical scribe, but they are extremely helpful for people who are unfamiliar with medical terminology or keeping health records.
A Rising Career
There are several different companies offering an online medical scribe training course, however there isn’t a saturation of scribes in the medical field yet. Many hospitals have begun using scribes to relieve doctors and nurses from the time-consuming task of maintaining paperwork. The demand for medical scribes will increase when hospitals begin seeing an increase in productivity of doctors and nurses.
