Impact of medical scribes on physician and patient satisfaction in dermatology

Abstract

Physician burnout and its association with the use of electronic health records (EHRs) is well known. The impact of scribes for academic dermatologists and their patients needs to be explored. As physician burnout increases, system-based solutions are needed. To assess the impact of a scribe on physician and patient satisfaction at an academic dermatology clinic. Prospective, pre-post-pilot intervention study. During the pilot intervention, clinicians had clinic sessions with and without a scribe. We assessed changes in (1) clinician satisfaction and burnout, (2) time spent on EHR, and (3) patient satisfaction. An electronic 7-item baseline survey, 23-item mid-study survey, and a 22-item end-of-study survey to assess clinician burnout and feedback on satisfaction with medical scribes. A 19-item post visit satisfaction survey was given to patients. EHR was queried to compare amount of time spent on EHR, closure of charts, and number of patients seen during scribe coverage and at baseline. Of the six clinicians, 100% felt that there was value to scribe support. Physician burnout was low at baseline and did not change post-pilot. Active documentation time, on average, decreased by 67% per patient with a 28% increase in patients seen per clinic. Over 88% of patients disagreed with the statement, “I was uncomfortable disclosing personal information when a scribe was present” (p < 0.001). In an academic dermatology and Mohs surgery setting, medical scribes increased clinician satisfaction without compromising patient satisfaction.