The down-low on scribes

Have you heard that we use scribes with our physicians and advanced practice nurses?

What is a scribe?

A scribe is a person who literally helps the healthcare provider (physician/advanced practice nurse [APN]) by taking notes in the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR), to allow the clinician to focus on the child/patient and family. 

We use a company called ScribeAmerica. The company is present in over 600 locations across the country with 22 million patient encounters in 2014 alone.

In early 2014, we started with the company as a trial – to see if their service was something that would work with our model. It didn’t take long for us to see how their service helped enhance productivity and allow the physician to refocus their attention to the patient. Now, we have 7 scribes across our Mountainside, Hamilton, and Toms River sites and we anticipate growing that number in the future.

For me the biggest thing about using a scribe is the complaint from doctors that the insurance company demands for documentation have taken them away from what they love the most – treating the kids. Dr. Elvira Downs and APN Louise Walpin have both experienced first hand the benefits of using scribes. I asked them to share a little bit about their experience. 

“With the advent of EMRs and the need to document in real-time, having a scribe has allowed me to focus my full attention on my patient and their family while having the encounter completed at the time of the visit. There is no struggle to enter the information (which can be difficult, as I am a 2 finger typist) so I can listen attentively, follow up on concerns and am not distracted during the visit. The visit is more relaxed and the patient has a better experience.”- Dr Elvira Downs – Section Chief-Psychiatry, Hamilton

 “From the initial encounter, I appreciated the fact that I’m no longer tied to my computer.  I can once again make eye contact with my clients and communicate via both verbal and nonverbal communication.  This makes delivering quality care so much easier.” 
- Louise Walpin – Advanced Practice Nurse, Hamilton

As a result of this innovation we are ahead of last year in the number of kids that have been seen by physicians/advanced practice nurses and we have reduced the time it takes to have the reports completed. This is a bit of technology that Dr. Chris Haines brought to our team.

Is there a new technology or improvement you think we should investigate to either help us see more children or take work off your plate that isn’t fully using your expertise?