Is it Getting Hard to Secure a Job as Medical Scribe

About 13 years ago, the quick adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and new medical documentation requirements sparked the growth of the medical scribe industry. By the end of 2010, medical scribes were among the fastest-growing professions in the United States. Healthcare providers were struggling to keep up with the new documentation demands, and scribes quickly became a practical solution.

Scribes gave clinicians much-needed relief from overwhelming amounts of paperwork. With fewer federal regulations, increased demand, and lower costs, scribes were a viable option. Additionally, aspiring medical students could use scribe work to fulfill clinical hours for medical school, making these jobs even more attractive. It was an ideal time to land a job as a medical scribe.

However, over the years, as medical documentation regulations grew stricter, the scribe industry reached a turning point. Today, there are fewer opportunities for medical scribe jobs compared to the past. Let’s examine the factors that led to this shift:

HITECH Act: Arrival of Meaningful Use Program in 2009 

To start our answer to the question “Is it Getting Hard to Secure a Job as a Medical Scribe?”, we should first look at the “HITECH Act”.  In 2009, the US government introduced the HITECH and Meaningful Use acts, which incentivized healthcare organizations to adopt advanced documentation systems and EHRs. These measures aimed to improve insurance billing and reimbursement processes while ensuring greater transparency in patient care.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, healthcare organizations were eager to boost their revenue and quickly adopted these changes. As a result, a flood of new documentation requirements emerged for every patient interaction. Clinicians soon found themselves overwhelmed with administrative tasks, leading to an increase in clinician burnout. To help manage the new workload, practices across the country started hiring scribes to assist with documentation.

The Role of Scribes and Medical Transcription in Healthcare

For many years, scribes were the go-to solution for clinicians needing help with documentation. Typically, scribes are skilled individuals who excel in reading and writing, type quickly, and work well in fast-paced settings. Their main role was to document patient encounters in real-time and input patient information into the EHR.

This system remained in place for some time, with scribes taking on bureaucratic tasks like data entry. However, as regulations increased, scribes became less appealing to healthcare providers. New rules significantly restricted the tasks scribes could perform, and providers who allowed scribes to take on tasks outside their training faced legal risks. Scribes soon became a potential source of malpractice liability. As a result, the demand for highly trained scribes rose, and so did the associated costs.

Healthcare providers started seeking alternative documentation solutions, which led to the growth of dictation devices and transcription services. These services took over many of the documentation tasks previously handled by scribes, offering more affordable, flexible options. Although scribes remained part of the healthcare landscape, their role was no longer as dominant as it once was.

The Rising Demand for Medical Assistants

As the documentation workload continues to grow, the limitations of scribes, dictation, and transcription services have become more apparent. Healthcare providers now need personal assistants who can handle a broader range of tasks rather than just focusing on documentation. 

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics supports this trend. Their reports show that jobs for medical scribes and transcriptionists will continue to decline in the coming years, with new roles like Medical Assistants, Medical Records Specialists, and Medical Operations Analysts gaining prominence. These positions help reduce the administrative burden on providers while allowing them to focus on what they do best: providing care.

Additionally, investments in digital health, particularly in workflow optimization and AI-driven documentation tools, have reached record levels over the past three years. This shift suggests that healthcare providers are seeking better solutions that are secure, cost-effective, and more efficient.

In short, traditional scribe jobs are becoming less common. The position is fading, and like clinicians, medical students and young professionals should start preparing for the future of healthcare.

The Future: Healthcare with AI-Powered Medical Scribes

To land a medical scribe job in the era of Ambient AI has become a bit hard if not very difficult. At SOAPsuds, we combine artificial intelligence, machine learning, and AI Medical Scribes to automate the documentation process and provide clinicians with the tools they need to deliver efficient, high-quality care. AI Medical Scribes are an efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective solution that helps streamline documentation while reducing the administrative burden on healthcare professionals.

Innovation and technology continue to reshape the healthcare landscape, making tasks such as documentation faster and more accurate. AI-powered tools not only support clinicians in delivering better care but also ensure that the healthcare industry is prepared for the future. Working with SOAPsuds gives you exposure to a variety of medical specialties, helping you stay aligned with the roles of Medical Assistants and Records Specialists of tomorrow, rather than relying on outdated methods.