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How to Select A Virtual Scribe?

February 16, 2021

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A Virtual Scribe can free you up from spending your valuable time on documentation and allows you to have a better patient interaction and better work/life balance.

When evaluating your options for a scribe or virtual assistant, you may find the following criteria helpful in selecting your best option:

  1. Dedicated: Is the assigned assistant going to be dedicated to you only or shared by other providers? The best option is to have a dedicated assistant that follows you throughout the day and learn your documentation style and processes.
  2. Virtual versus in person: Will my assistant be in person or virtual? In person allows you to see the work being done immediately, however, many in-person scribe do the role as an interim while waiting for the next job and turn-over is usually very high. A virtual scribe allows you to have a dedicated person all the time and with COVID-19, it’s one less person in the room. Having a virtual person allows you to hire someone anywhere in the world and secure the best talent.
  3. Live versus recorded: Live Scribe: Will my scribe be available during every patient visit or during my daily round in the hospital and document my notes real time? or recorded Scribe: Will my notes be recorded during or after the patient visit and then documented in the EMR?
  4. Quality Assurance: How do I ensure quality and accuracy of the documentation? What training and quality assurance does the company provide me and the scribe. Usually you should look for 99% accuracy.
  5. Part-time versus full time: Will my scribe be full time or part time? Can I afford a full time person? Depending on your specialty, you may need a full time scribe or if you are a specialist with procedure days, you may need part time scribe.
  6. Back up: What is the back up to my scribe if they get sick or have an emergency? How smooth is the transition?
  7. Training and support: What kind of training and support does my scribe receive? What is their background and how will they be trained on my patient and clinical processes and style of documentation?
  8. Documentation System: How trained and familiar my scribe will be on my EMR? Do they have the right background or how long will it take them to learn the system? Most Scribe usually are familiar with most common EMR like EPIC, McKesson, AllScript,…
  9. Stable and Reliable: Is my scribe reliable and stable or will they move on to another role or job soon. Many scribe are medical or nursing students and tend to do scribing to gain experience. Turn over is usually very high. Off shore virtual scribe usually are dedicated to the scribe role as a professional career. They do Scribing for a living and usually have high work ethics and standards.
  10. Cost and Affordability: How affordable is having a scribe? An in person scribe requires insurance and pay that is equivalent to a medical assistant. An off shore visual scribe can be all time dedicated to you for less than $100/day.

If you like more information on Virtual Scribe, please contact Virtual Health at 813-333-1401 or contact us here https://physicianscribe.org/contact/

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