Medical Scribe Solutions: The Next Piece in the Healthcare Puzzle

A scribe is a medical documentation expert who works under the direct supervision of the licensed medical provider. The scribe shadows the physician into the patient room and enters patient medical data into the medical record, whether it be paper or electronic. The scribe’s medical data capture is done in real-time at the point-of-service. The medical provider is most accurate, productive and efficient when assisted documentation occurs with a scribe, as noted through Corporate Sponsor, ScribeAmerica. In contrast, the medical data capture models of medical transcription, or voice recognition software are impossible to perform contemporaneously with the physician’s H&P, and therefore, will inherently never be able to match the accuracy, productivity and efficiency of a scribe. Ask any physician who has waited on a UA, CT, or blood result, and you’ll be told that the waiting game to get data results back can drain productivity. This is another area where scribes shine, for unlike MT and voice recognition software, a scribe behaves more as a clinical information manager who actively locates patient studies, bird dogs medical tests and make calls to other departments like the lab or radiology, prepares MDM by researching PMH, can call patient’s families on your behalf, can prompt the provider for additional information or relay messages between provider, clinical staff , ancillary personnel, patients and their families. Certified medical scribes are a key facet in solving today’s healthcare challenges, and employment dilemmas, utilizing effective model and solutions through real-time partnership with clinical documentation encounters.

ACCIM is a non-profit organization representing and certifying medical scribes for gainful employment with prospective academic partners. ACCIM certifies scribes as Clinical Information Managers (CIMs), and enables certification pathway to Certifying Academic Partners (CAPs) to academic institutions nationwide.

Contact ACCIM for more information on this growing field in high demand. Email: info@theaccim.org. Phone: 832.224.6911 or 83.ACCIM.911

The Ultimate Preparatory Vocation Towards Becoming A Physician Assistant: Medical Scribe

As a new Physician Assistant student this year, I continually am thankful for the incomparable experiences medical scribing that have brought me here. I graduated from UCLA in 2010 with a Bachelors of Science in Anthropology.  When I discovered the Physician Assistant career shortly thereafter, I fell in love with and quickly began working to build my application. During this time I focused on the main aspects of the CASPA application: (1) completing prerequisite courses with strong grades; (2) completing the GRE; (3) obtaining patient care experience; (4) obtaining letters of recommendation; (5) completing my personal statement.

The two of these I found myself immediately struggling with were obtaining patient care experience and letters of recommendation. How was I supposed to obtain experience when I had none to start with? And how will I find three people who know me well enough to write me strong letters?

Through networking I was fortunate enough discover the exact type of experience I needed: Emergency Room Scribing. The position was fast paced, exciting and an unbelievable learning experience. In a matter of just a few weeks I found medical terminology, aspects of medical decision making, and nuances of patient interaction were already becoming second nature to me. When you start school, professors will tell you how learning medicine is like learning a new language. Think of this as a study abroad program.

Like I said, I did a lot of research on schools when I went about this application process. With almost 200 physician assistant schools across the US, you have a lot of options and a lot of information in front of you. Some easy ways I found that helped me effectively narrow these down were to input key information (required hours, GPA requirements, course requirements, etc.) into an excel sheet and fill in the blanks using information from individual school websites as well as the PAEA website which has this information summarized for you if you subscribe to them.

In general, hours of experience are key in applying to most Physician Assistant programs across the United States. Based on my research last year, these requirements varied from none (but strongly preferred) to up to 4,000 hours. On average most programs want approximately 2,000 hours of direct patient care experience by the time of application. The term “direct patient care experience” can in fact include medical scribing experience especially now as the scope of our experience is becoming more widely known. However, for those programs still unfamiliar with what a scribe does (which was a concern for me applying last cycle but not so much for you now), it is important to indicate on your CASPA application exactly what the position entails. Some key descriptors that I used in the “duties” section included : accompany attending from beginning to end of physical exam, diagnoses, treatment and discharge; accompany practitioner to patient’s bedside to assist through direct verbal contact and track patient histories / health complaints ; prompt clinicians to follow up on patient cases that meet certain conditions ; completed over 120 hours of training prior to assisting in the ED ; monitor progress of imaging studies, lab results, exams, and procedures  to evaluate patient visit records and help create treatment plans.

Unique to other means of gaining experience, scribing alone will allow you to make a wage without first requiring some sort of certificate or outside training. The other common means of direct experience such as emergency medical technician, licensed vocational nurse, medical assistant ,medical technologist, military medical corpsman, nursing assistant, paramedic, psychiatric technician, radiologic technician, or respiratory therapist all require outside training and certification.  Also, the fact that scribing experience is paid is valuable for more than just the obvious reasons. Most programs will look at the fact that your experience is paid and do prefer such experience. With adequate explanation in my CASPA application and illustration of the wide scope of the scribe experience during the interviews, the validity of my scribing was not questioned in my case.

Also, note that volunteer experience falls under a different category entirely on the CASPA application. Anything you do that is not a paid position will be looked at as volunteer or shadow experience. This is not to say that your volunteer hours are not important because many schools do want these hours in addition to your patient care experience. But these hours do not contribute to the patient care hours most programs are looking for.

I cannot stress this enough. I cannot believe how invaluable this experience has been. I liken the experience of medical scribing to a residency. During my interviews, my illustration of my experiences spoke for themselves.   Even those programs unfamiliar with what a scribe is were impressed at my medical fluency and the scope of my experience.  Just like on the CASPA, it is important to illustrate this during your interviews. For some programs, by the end of the interview I was even asked for advice on how to incorporate scribes into their practices (a great thing to indicate in your thank you letters that you would be happy to assist with upon acceptance).

Now that I am in a program, on a daily basis, my fluency in medical language has created a foundation helping me during exams, seeing practice patients, and understanding new material. Of the 40 students in my program, about a quarter of the students are previous scribes. I am continually noticing that even a few months removed from scribing, I have an advantage because of the foundation of knowledge my experience has given me. I grasp material quickly because terminology and even general intuition regarding patient care is already there. While many of my classmates have one specific expertise based on their past positions, scribing has given me a background in many aspects of the patient care process. This was a benefit my professors now tell me factored into my admission in the first place.

I chose the Physician Assistant field because of my desire to be part of a collaborative team. I knew this was one of my strengths and my experiences as a Medical Scribe helped me fine tune the personal skills needed to do this. After a year and a half of Medical Scribing, I had gained nearly 2,500 hours of direct verbal patient contact, been given not only three but six glowing letters of recommendation from providers that had spent many hours working directly with me,  and gained a network of colleagues that I look forward to working with again once I graduate. Moreover, now that I have begun my PA program I am grateful for what this opportunity has done for me and look forward to soon becoming part of the healthcare team.

Deanna Shah
Physician Assistant Student

Scribes, Scribes, Scribes: New Career Board Launched into the Industry – “All Things Scribe!”

ACCIM releases exclusive Job Board into the industry for Medical Scribes/Clinical Information Managers and Clinicians/Hospitals/Facilities alike to find the best candidate of choice they are seeking.  Browse through ACCIM’s Career Center, Register as a User, track listings and apply, or simply list with ACCIM to fill HR needs across the healthcare spectrum.  Become a certified Scribe today – stand apart from the rest!  ACCIM – the only professional association “all things Scribe!”  Contact:  1.832.224.6911; info@theaccim.org

http://careercenter.theaccim.org/c/search_results.cfm?site_id=14338

Interested in Medical Scribe? ACCIM & MDS of Kansas Present Webinar 2/5/13 @ 7 EST – Register today!

Join tomorrow’s live webinar, 2/5 at 4 PST/7 EST, to learn about exciting educational and career opportunities for medical scribes as MDS hosts.  ACCIM Executive Director, Kristin Hagen, will discuss the industry certification pathway for medical scribes and schools alike.  Medical Scribes are in HOT demand!  Register to attend today!  Contact MDS of Kansas at (866) 777-7264.

Webinar Information:
Date:   February 5, 2013
Time:  6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST
Location:   205 South Hillside
Wichita, Kansas  67211

Program InformationContact:
MDS of Kansas
316.776.9495
866.777.7264

View REGISTRATION and PROGRAM here !

ACEP weighs in on distinct advantages of Medical Scribes (ACEP Publication: 3/2012)

American College of Emergency Physicians, a non-profit association representing nearly 31,000 emergency department physicians, released their take on the valuable benefits to be gained through implementation of medical scribes.  Read the full published article here.

American College of Clinical Information Managers (ACCIM) maintains and sets minimal industry standards for certifying, credentialing, and deploying medical scribe educational programs, online or university-driven academia.   For more information, please contact ACCIM at 832.224.6911 or 83.ACCIM.911.

 

 

Medical Transcription Lawsuit Exposes Inherent Dangers to “Care-then-Document” Model

 Article Publication:  Baldwin County jury hands down $140M settlement

This case exposes the liability of documenting after the physician patient encounter, which is the historical practice of medical transcription companies. The case also underscores the federal government’s assertion that widespread EHR use will result in a decrease in medical errors by virtue of the inherent safety measures within the EHR workflow that would have prevented this patient’s death. For example, orders do not get seen by nursing staff, let alone executed, unless they are signed by the doctor. Unfortunately, it is well known that EHRs slow doctors down, thus impeding the doctor’s ability to document in real time, which as this lawsuit implies, was a significant mistake with the hospital’s process.

Additional patient protection is afforded by the proper use of scribes since the typical scribe workflow is to document contemporaneously with the physician-patient encounter. Thus, the medical record is completed and signed by the doctor, prior to patient discharge. Proper scribe use adds another patient safety feature that, unlike doctors whose dictation may sound muffled or unintelligible by the medical transcriptionist who is listening on the other side,  doctors who work with medical scribes can be immediately queried by the scribe at the point-of-service. This dynamic dialogue is a compelling safety feature of the physician-scribe model that physicians using medical transcription, do not have.  Real time, onsite medical scribe documentation, alongside the physician, adds to increased operational productivity and patient safety protocols within the EHR environment.

For the Record Article: “Medical Scribes Make Their Presence Felt” (Vol. 24 No. 21 P. 14)

Considering a career in healthcare? Looking to combine education with transformed clinical solutions?

Medical Scribes are the entry point of clinical documentation and seeing through the professional lens of healthcare workflow efficiencies, cost-saving measures, enabling real-time clinical documentation solutions, and most importantly, working hand-in-hand with physicians for quality patient-centric care. Many medical scribes enter this competitive position to distinguish themselves, building education, towards their clinical career goals – albeit physician, nursing, mid-level providers, therapists, emergency services to name a few.

Medical scribes experience opens up a multitude of opportunities within a competitive career landscape, clinical documentation management, leadership, and operational scribing in a multitude of healthcare settings, rural or urban.  Contact ACCIM for more information on certified medical scribe, including educational opportunities, pre-clinical/clinical training, Certification/Credentialing, history of scribes, benefits of certified scribes, and becoming a Member/Corporate Sponsor.  Email:  Info@theaccim.org.  Phone:  1.832.224.6911 (1.83.ACCIM.911).

Read the online magazine article here from For the Record:  Medical Scribes Make Their Presence Felt

November 19, 2012
Medical Scribes Make Their Presence Felt , By Mary Anne Gates
For The Record Magazine
Vol. 24 No. 21 P. 14
For The Record Online Article:  http://www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/111912p14.shtml

Medical Scribe Study Finds Scribe Use May Extend Physician Careers 85%

Newly released study discusses physician perception of scribe impact on metrics and physician quality of life.
- “I can now just focus on being a physician”

Read full study here.

Scribe utilization has positive impact on workflow productivity, wellness, and job satisfaction for physicians, as well as their opinions of scribes’ technical skills and professionalism.

According to study, “some (85%) said that working with a scribe may extend their career. With respect to productivity (agree or strongly agree), 64.2% felt that they had higher relative value units and 79.4% were able to treat more patients per hour with scribe utilization. The majority of respondents (74.8%) felt that scribes were very or extremely beneficial when transitioning to use of an EMR. Respondents who were previously using an EMR without scribes indicated that there was a large positive impact of scribe utilization on EMR experience with respect to relieving the stress of documentation (87.4%), being able to “focus on being a physician” (78.8%), quality of life (77.9%) and patient care (77.3%).”

 

ACCIM Presents: “What’s in a Name? The Future of Medical Scribes” Webinar (11/15/12 @ 3 EST)

AHDI’s 2012 Managers/Supervisors webinar series hosts Kristin Hagen, Executive Director of American College of Clinical Information Managers (ACCIM), to present an insightful look at the accelerating career path of medical scribes – many of our nation’s future clinicians and allied healthcare workers.

The informative webinar will describe the dynamics of a medical scribe, educational requirements, certification process, the future of healthcare documentation professionals, and the industry as a whole. Make plans today to attend and register below.

Presenter: Kristin Hagen, CPEHR, CPHIE, CPHIT
Time: 12:00 PM Pacific / 1:00 PM Mountain / 2:00 PM Central / 3:00 PM Eastern
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: November 14, 2012
CEC Given: 1 PD

Registration: http://www.ahdionline.org/OnlineStore/ProductDetail/tabid/55/Default.aspx?ProductId=2062

ACCIM Attending American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Scientific Assembly (10/8-10/10)

American College of Clinical Information Managers (ACCIM) will be onsite at this year’s ACEP conference held in Denver, CO, October 8-12. ACCIM advocates on behalf of the medical scribe industry, setting minimal performance standards of practice and certifying medical scribes and scribe programs.

Executive Director, Kristin Hagen, will be attending ACEP and networking with colleagues regarding the importance of performance standards and certification of medical scribes as they aid clinicians with workflow efficiencies and clinical documentation. Medical scribes assist clinicians in real time, at the point-of-care with supervised data collection and entry into the EMR. For more information, or to arrange a meeting onsite, please direct inquiries to: kristin_hagen@theaccim.org  or contact ACCIM at 1.832.224.6911.

ACCIM looks forward to an eventful educational event and networking with industry colleagues!

About ACEP

ACEP’s 2012 Scientific Assembly will have an exciting array of educational programming and social events, and new venue, this year’s Assembly has been one of the most anticipated emergency medicine conferences.

Special features this year include

•Over 300 world-class educational sessions
•A return of the popular pre-conference Cadaver Lab
•Summaries and commentary of the articles chosen by ABEM for its current LLSA tests
•More hands-on skills labs added to the program
•New 30 Minute lectures •ACEP’s Research Forum – tomorrow’s news today – included in 4-day registration fee

Add to that, the largest exhibit program in the specialty to view the latest equipment and products, and one of the best opportunities to network with your colleagues from across the nation.

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