Experiences Of An Orthopedic Scribe: Unveiled

Medical scribe - a clinical innovation, has transformed the way in which medical practices document patient care. For orthopedic practices, accurate record-keeping is just as crucial as the treatment itself. Orthopedic scribes play a crucial role in medical record-keeping, a meticulous process of documenting every aspect of a patient’s musculoskeletal health. From ligament tears and fractures to spinal surgeries and sports injuries, thorough and accurate documentation is essential for ensuring optimal patient outcomes. Using orthopedic scribes can help streamline the documentation process, thereby improving efficiency and precision of orthopedic care. In this blog post, we'll delve into the personal experiences shared by Salman Azfar, an orthopedic scribe.

Salman Azfar, s Student at The University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, Shares His Experiences as a Medical Scribe for Orthopedic Surgeons

Salman says that the first and fundamental thing he learned in medical school was patients wanted their doctors to be approachable. Establishing trust and rapport early on enhances the care experience. However, maintaining true one-on-one interactions becomes challenging when physicians must focus on completing documentation checklists. Azfar suggests that, in his opinion and experience, having a medical scribe can greatly assist in such scenarios.

Before attending medical school, he worked as a medical scribe for orthopedic surgeons and found that encounter documentation required extreme attention to detail. Salman Azfar and his colleagues frequently remained after physicians left the clinic to update notes and correct charts. Data indicates that physicians spend twice as much time on desk work and EHRs for every hour of face-to-face interaction with patients. These numbers don't even consider how writing notes during appointments can affect the quality of the visit. From the patient's perspective, documentation might create the impression that physicians prioritize their computers over their patients. Ultimately, he says that he believes scribes can effectively address many of these issues for both physicians and patients.

What Does Employing a Scribe Mean For an Orthopedic Practice?

Employing scribe services can effectively address documentation-related challenges faced by physicians. Various studies have demonstrated that using scribes enhances physician efficiency and productivity by reducing encounter times, decreasing after-hours charting, and accommodating a larger patient load. Although findings regarding patient satisfaction vary, many patients are comfortable with scribes and report feeling more engaged during visits. Several other studies have revealed that patient satisfaction remained unchanged with the presence of a scribe. From his personal experience, Salman Afzer says that the physicians he scribed for demonstrated greater engagement with their patients compared to what he typically witnessed during his general shadowing and volunteer work. He states this based on the increased eye contact and patient interactions, he personally observed. He concluded saying that extensive research could provide definitive evidence that medical scribes greatly improve the patient experience during clinical encounters.

Conclusion

Not all medical practices choose to employ scribes, as some locations may find them economically impractical to hire. However, research indicated that for various other specialties the productivity boost provided by scribes enables physicians to see more to more patients and effectively offset costs. Beyond economic considerations, it's clear that medical scribes offer a range of benefits, from reducing physician burnout and improving clinical workflow to enhancing patient-physician communication and improving overall quality of care. A 2017 study projected that by 2020 there would be approximately one scribe for every nine physicians. He further added that scribes bring significant value to the medical community, and he being a scribe is delighted to see the increase in numbers. He concluded by saying that conducting more in-depth studies on the impact of scribes and expanding scribe training could lead to the development of more wonderful future doctors, less stressed current physicians, and ultimately, more satisfied patients.

If you are on the lookout for orthopedic scribes you have come to the right place. We at Physicians Angels have a team of certified orthopedic scribes ready to provide meticulous documentation support tailored to the specific needs of your practice. For more information email us at contactus@physiciansangels.com.