Resources

Female physicians are making their mark in medicine in more ways than one. From a record number of female medical students entering the classroom to studies that show in-hospital mortality ranking lower among patients treated by female physicians, it’s undeniable that women in white coats have come a long way.

While telemedicine was around long before March 2020, it has never been more prominent than it is right now. As the world continues to find its way through the global pandemic, social distancing and virtual connections have become our new way of life.

If greater efficiency is something you’re striving for in 2022, you’re not alone. A large majority of New Year’s resolutions revolve around making better use of one’s time—whether at home or in the office. According to data from YouGovAmerica quoted in an article by Forbes, about a quarter of Americans will make resolutions, with 20% realistically believing they will actually accomplish them.

Times, they are a-changin’. And within a large majority of today’s operating rooms and medical offices, so is the gender of many practicing physicians. The increasing number of women donning the white coat has seen a gradual, yet steady, shift over time—and it’s a shift that is only ramping up with each passing year.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fill hospitals with sick patients and new variants emerge, healthcare workers continue to be pushed to the brink like never before. It’s the reason why entire global summits are being dedicated to burnout. It’s the reason why we’re seeing clinicians quitting at an alarming rate. And, it’s the reason why we’re so concerned about the threat of physician shortages to come.

“I’m just going through the motions; I’ve lost my ability to care. I’m numb. When will it end?” Ten years ago, those were the words of Cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Fisher. Today, those thoughts still reflect the feelings of many clinicians—and it’s a reality that has only gotten worse thanks to an unbalanced work-life balance, unrealistic documentation demands and a global pandemic.

Due to the challenges of finding quality hires, and having more people within the clinic space, the pendulum has swung from live scribes—those who physically enter the room with the physician—to virtual scribes—who attend the physician/patient encounter via secure audio connection. In a time when companies like Zoom continue to watch their revenue skyrocket and the phrase “let’s hop on a call” might as well be added to the dictionary, it only makes sense that this particular niche would expand.

As a clinician, you’ve likely spent far too long buried under the demands of documentation. You’ve taken more work home than you ever imagined, and you understand first-hand what it means to be burnt out. But you’ve also seen the studies about how much time you could be saving with the help of a medical scribe—and you’ve finally decided it’s time to take that step.

You’ve just wrapped up another patient visit, and now it’s on to the next. Well, at least in a perfect world. The reality, though, is that you’ll need to find the time to deal with the documentation demands of that previous visit—or be forced to take it home with you for the night.

When it comes to the many benefits of Virtual Scribes, one thing is clear: The value and productivity that they bring to a medical practice cannot be discounted. The work medical scribes do often make an immense difference in the work-life balance of clinicians today. One thing that perhaps isn’t as clear, though, is who should be paying for a scribe?