Will Scribes Change the Way Physicians Practice?

Many practices are employing medical scribes to enter physician notes into the EHR. In fact, 21 percent of the 1400-plus respondents to Physicians Practices 2014 Technology Survey, Sponsored by Kareo, said they are using them.

Full results from the 2014 Technology Survey, Sponsored by Kareo, will be published in the July/August 2014 issue of Physicians Practice and online July 9.

Still, readers are debating whether scribes will really become key members of healthcare teams.

In response to a recent blog on the ROI of medical scribes, one reader stated, "Scribes can be very effective tools to increase your productivity, improve your charting, allow you to speak to your patients while your scribe finds all the boxes to check, T's to cross, and I's to dot."

But another said: "If scribes are this complicated to use, forget it. The 'auditors' will make them obsolete. Another great idea destroyed by the government or insurance companies."