Joshua Hurwitz
President, Emergency Medicine Associates
Dr. Hurwitz is a Scribe-X cofounder. He graduated from Oregon Health and Science University medical school in 2008 and is a board certified Emergency Medicine physician practicing in Vancouver, Washington. He is president of Emergency Medicine Associates, a professional emergency physician staffing company, and serves as medical director for See You at the Summit (https://seeyouatthesummit.org), a nonprofit organization serving adolescents battling cancer.
The role of medical scribes has evolved significantly over the past 30 years, transitioning from traditional documentation assistants to pivotal contributors in modern healthcare. Initially, scribes were primarily used to alleviate the administrative burden on physicians, allowing them to focus more on patient care. Over the years, the integration of advanced technologies has revolutionized their role, with artificial intelligence (AI) now playing a crucial part in medical documentation. This article explores the history and role of medical scribes, the benefits they bring to medical practice, and the transformative impact of AI on medical documentation.
Medical scribes have been a part of the healthcare system for decades, with their roles and responsibilities evolving in response to the increasing demands of medical documentation. In the early 1990s, scribes were employed primarily in emergency departments to assist with the burgeoning paperwork associated with patient care. Over the next two decades, their use expanded to various medical specialties, driven by the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs) and the growing administrative workload on healthcare providers (Tierney et al., 2024). The role of scribes continued to adapt, integrating more technology and taking on complex tasks to support physicians better and improve workflow efficiency.
In contemporary medical practice, scribes play a crucial role in ensuring accurate and efficient documentation of patient encounters. They enable physicians to focus more on direct patient care by handling time-consuming administrative tasks. Scribes document patient visits in real time, manage EHRs, and ensure that all relevant patient information is recorded accurately. Scribe involvement only enhances the quality of documentation but also helps in maintaining comprehensive medical records. The presence of scribes can significantly reduce the cognitive load on physicians, allowing them to dedicate more time to patient interactions and clinical decision-making, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.
A prospective study in outpatient oncology clinics demonstrated a 12.1% decrease in average patient visit duration and improved physician satisfaction and quality of life [Gao et al., 2019]. Similarly, a randomized controlled trial found that scribes significantly improved physician satisfaction, chart quality, and charting efficiency without decreasing patient satisfaction (Gidwani et al., 2017). The presence of scribes has been shown to increase productivity, measured by relative value units (RVUs), and decrease overtime usage in clinical settings (Friedson, 2017).
Medical literature highlights several benefits of employing scribes in healthcare settings. Scribes have been shown to enhance physician productivity by reducing the time spent on documentation, thereby increasing the number of patients seen per day. Studies have reported improvements in physician satisfaction and reductions in burnout rates due to the decreased administrative burden (Itauma & Itauma, 2024). Moreover, the improvement in accuracy and thoroughness of medical documentation leads to better patient care and more precise billing processes. The use of scribes has also been associated with enhanced patient satisfaction, as physicians are able to engage more fully during consultations, providing a higher quality of care.
