Quality medical documentation is an indispensable requirement during both clinic consultations and hospital rounds. Among most doctors, documenting details in the EHR during consultation takes more than just typing.  Doctors not only consult with and examine patients, they must go back and document details of the visit at the end of a long day if they aren’t able to finish their notes during a patient visit. Consequently, this can impact the quality of documentation, as doctor burnout is an actual phenomenon.  

According to research conducted by Springer Link regarding how physicians’ interaction with patients is affected by keystrokes, mouse clicks, and gazing at the computer, patients tend to be less interactive, conversation becomes full of silence or dead air, and patients become less likely to be open in voicing their concerns when doctors are too engrossed in their computers during a visit. There is no natural flow to a conversion and visit when patients feel naturally disconnected from their healthcare providers. 

However, more than the issue of producing documentation and consultation with less output quality when doctors are up to their ears in work, documentation largely takes its toll on physicians’ health as well. Doctors are predisposed to a number of health conditions when they have a lot on their plates doing documentation – particularly mundane typing tasks.  More and more doctors are becoming aware of the need to lift the burden of documentation off their shoulders.

A very common result of typing too much is a condition called Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) which, according to web.eecs.umich.edu, is a potentially debilitating condition resulting from overusing the hands to perform a repetitive task, such as typing, clicking a mouse, or writing.  Better Health Channel coined it as ‘overuse injury’ affecting the elbow, wrist, or hand of computer users. Pain, swelling, stiffness of the joints, weakness and numbness are common symptoms of overuse injuries. Not surprisingly, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), alongside Eyestrain and Posture-related injuries, are common problems facing many physicians.

There is a solution. The digital era has delivered convenience to many areas of services including the medical field. Medical scribes helps assist doctors in documenting consultations in office or in different hospital settings, in either actual or virtually-assisted forms.  Andis Robeznieks, Senior News Writer of ama-assn.org, stated in his article that many doctors have expressed great satisfaction having scribes in their line of work. Not only do they feel a sense of accomplishment being doctors again, they also feel a deep sense of teamwork and are able to provide full attention to their patients with less burnout. 

MyVirtualScribe (MVS) is the answer to your scribing needs; we offer quality service to physicians and medical providers who are in need of a variety of virtual medical assistance services. MVS provides well-trained and experienced individuals and matches them with clients/physicians who are looking for specific skill sets. As part of its effort for growth and expansion, MVS not only provides medical scribes but also other forms of medical assistance such as medical billing, medical dictation, appointment setting, call handling, and many other front and back office tasks.

Doctors, like all of us, are susceptible to many forms of physical burnout.  MVS is here to help aid in making medical documentation a lot more manageable, effective, efficient and making doctors’ jobs more enjoyable again.