THE GROW TH OF EHRs HA S BOOSTED USE OF MEDICAL A SSISTANT
SCRIBES. A STUDY IN THE JOURNAL OF FAMILY PRACTICE SUGGESTS THAT
MAY BE A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT.
BY STEVE BARRETT
RESE ARCHERS COMPARED THE qua lit y of 217
outpatient progress notes written at eight practice
sites within a single hea lth system before and after
the practices shifted from physicians writing the
notes to medica l assista nt scribes ha ndling that
task. The notes were related to diabetes care and
same-day appointments.
With regard to diabetes, notes written by medical
a ssista nt scribes were of higher qua lit y overa ll
than those written by the primary care physicians.
The scribes' notes were deemed more thorough,
understandable, useful and up to date, according
to the study.
Quality was similar, however, for physicians' and
scribes' notes that related to same-day appointments.
The average leng ths of the notes were a lso similar:
618 words for notes written by medica l assistant
scribes, compared with 558 words for those written
by physicians.
Discussing the results, researchers cited previous
studies suggesting EHRs can hinder communication
between patients and physicians, and that use of
scribes could improve those interactions.
They recommended further study on issues such
as how scribes aect primar y care work flow and
the cost of care. ■
Scribes May Enhance
Quality of Outpatient Notes
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