How To Justify The Cost of Medical Scribes To Your Administrator

We know it’s not always up to you alone to make the decision to bring efficiency into your practice and hire a medical scribe.  You may need to justify the cost to partners in your practice and/or your Administrator.

Here’s how you can make the case:

1. 1. The bottom line will look better.
      We could have built the suspense and listed this one last, but the truth is that increased profit is your first, best argument. If a physician sees more patients, they earn more money, and that added revenue more than covers the cost of a medical scribe. To be clear, this is true if you see at least two more patients per day, which many do. However, not everyone gets a return on this spend due to a number of reasons – maybe they are already efficient or they choose to use the savings to get their life back.
   2. Productivity will increase.
      This point is obviously THE reason for number one, but it is so critical we’re giving it it’s own slot. If you’re more efficient and spend less time on record keeping, you’ll make your hospital or practice more money.
   3. Patients are happier.
      When physicians can put down the technology required to enter information into EMRs they can put 100 percent of their focus on their patients. Time, or rather, focused time with the patient is key to the doctor-patient relationship. Medical scribes alleviate the need for physicians to spend a chunk of their time with clients doing administrative tasks. All this contributes to a better “quality” rating from your patients.
   4. Stave off Physician Burnout.
      Physician burnout is a very real thing. Most physicians enjoy their patient relationships the most; it’s why many of them went into the field. But, they burn out due to the increased demand on their time for record keeping and regulations. A medical scribe allows them to do more of what they enjoy, and less of what they don’t, meaning they’ll find more enjoyment in their job.
   5. Record Keeping will be more accurate.
      When you hire a medical scribe you alleviate the need for a physician to multitask. A medical scribe is focused solely on accurate recording of the patient visit, and is trained in how to input electronic health records. That focus and their training allows for fewer mistakes, which has the added benefit of accuracy in billing, which in turn leads to getting paid faster,

Your administrator is undoubtedly well aware of the burden Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has placed on physicians and clinicians. And we are all aware that electronic record keeping is here to stay. That means hospitals and practices need to find the best way to deal with the burden they bring.

Using medical scribes brings your physicians greater job satisfaction, therefore their patients have a more satisfying experience. Scribes bring greater accuracy and efficiency to keeping Electronic Health Records, therefore leading to more accurate billing and more timely pay. All of the way around, it’s a slam dunk for hospitals and practices.