Use of medical scribes improves workflow of surgeons, residents in an outpatient setting

Editor's Note

Incorporating medical scribes into surgical practices to reduce time surgeons spend on patient documentation and managing electronic health records increases the number of patients seen by surgeons and residents in outpatient clinics, finds this study presented October 29 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco.

During a 4-month time period, 335 clinical encounters occurred in an outpatient surgical oncology practice of two surgeons, 183 without scribes and 202 with scribes.

The average number of patients seen per day increased from 10 to 16. Resident involvement in patient visits increased from 34% to 45%.

The use of scribes could be one of the great tools that enhances physician-patient encounters and improves surgeon workflow, the authors say.