The Growing Trend of Medical Tele-Scribes in Healthcare

For many years, healthcare experts have been discussing the potential growth of telehealth and its ability to make care more accessible to underserved communities. However, no one could have predicted that a global pandemic would drive such rapid change. In the blink of an eye, healthcare systems across the world were forced to quickly adopt telemedicine practices to continue providing care.

The medical telescribe sector is one of the many industries affected by this shift. Like other fields connected to telehealth, the use of medical telescribes has grown steadily since the HITECH Act and the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR). However, the swift and dramatic rise in demand was an unexpected outcome that few could have foreseen.

Medical Telescribe?

Medical telescribes are remote assistants who help physicians manage administrative tasks during patient encounters. Typically, these telescribes are unlicensed professionals who join patient consultations through secure audio or video links. Their primary duties include assisting with documentation, charting, and updating EHR systems.

History and Trends

Since the introduction of the HITECH Act, healthcare providers have been under pressure to find ways to reduce the amount of administrative work they face. In response, in-person scribes became increasingly common, with the number of scribe jobs in the U.S. growing from 20,000 to 100,000 between 2016 and 2020.

This rapid expansion led to challenges, particularly related to costs and concerns about malpractice, such as "functional creep." As a result, many healthcare providers turned to alternative solutions like dictation tools and transcription services. However, virtual medical telescribes have recently gained significant traction as a more effective and affordable option.

Compared to in-person scribes, virtual telescribes are less expensive and often more secure. Their roles are more standardized, with better safeguards against issues like functional creep. However, due to labor costs in the U.S., many telescribe services are now outsourcing their work to countries with lower wages, making the service more cost-effective for providers.

Outsourcing telescribes presents its own set of challenges, such as unrealistic documentation turnaround times and security risks due to data transmission. As a result, some telescribe companies are returning to domestic hiring practices to maintain better control over data security and employee training. This shift presents new opportunities for aspiring medical professionals in the U.S. who have traditionally used scribing as a stepping stone for gaining industry experience.

Downsides of Medical Telescribes

While medical telescribes offer convenience, they also come with several downsides. One major issue is the cost, as telescribe services can be expensive, especially for smaller practices. Additionally, security risks surrounding data transmission remain a concern, with sensitive patient information vulnerable to breaches. Furthermore, outsourcing telescribe work to other countries can lead to challenges like slow turnaround times and inconsistent training.

Costs

At many leading telescribe companies in the U.S., the average scribe salary is around $31,000 per year, or about $15 per hour. While larger healthcare organizations may be able to absorb these costs, it is more difficult for smaller practices to afford such expensive solutions. Additionally, many providers must cover the expenses of third-party scribes or documentation aids out of pocket, which can be a significant financial burden.

Cybersecurity and Data Transmission

As telemedicine became more prevalent during the pandemic, so did incidents of cyberattacks and data breaches. A study on patient data breaches found that the number of reported security incidents increased by 42%, affecting 31 million patients in 2020 alone. Although these issues are widespread in the telehealth sector, it's important to consider how medical telescribes may also be vulnerable to cyber threats.

From "Zoombombing" to data theft through telescribe portals, the risks surrounding data transmission are growing. Healthcare providers must take precautions to protect sensitive patient data and minimize the chances of breaches during virtual consultations.

Medical Tele-Scribes and Tele-Medicine: Technology Taking over the Trends 

The fast-paced adoption of telemedicine during the pandemic was a necessary response, and healthcare workers should be praised for their efforts during such a challenging period. However, it’s clear that telehealth solutions need to go beyond meeting current needs and should address the ongoing challenges posed by the shift toward more online and technology-driven healthcare.

Looking at the broader picture, it’s evident that the future of healthcare, including scribe and documentation solutions, is leaning toward increased use of technology and automation particularly after the arrival of Ambient AI Medical Scribe solutions. However, the industry continues to revisit the same ideas, hoping that slight adjustments will solve persistent problems.

This approach is unlikely to succeed, not because the tools are ineffective, but because they fail to tackle the root causes of the issues that affect healthcare providers.

The Problem!

The real issue is that healthcare providers are overwhelmed with administrative tasks. The introduction of EHRs and the associated documentation requirements have turned doctors into data clerks, contributing to the high rates of burnout among physicians.

The Solution: SOAPsuds AI Medical Scribe 

Medical telescribe companies have generally followed the same approach as other technology solutions, providing fixes for one aspect of the problem at a time.

For instance, medical scribes and telescribes help with note-taking, transcription services assist with typing, and dictation tools ease data entry. However, none of these solutions address the entire problem at once.

SOAPsuds with its AI Medical Scribe aims to solve this by automating note-taking and clinical documentation. Using advanced artificial intelligence, SOAPsuds listens to patient encounters in real-time, just like a telescribe, but generates faster and more accurate notes. It extracts relevant information from conversations and integrates it directly into EHR software, allowing physicians to simply review and approve the notes.

Rather than focusing on just one part of the documentation process, SOAPsuds addresses the entire workflow with advanced AI Medical Scribe solutions. This approach helps healthcare providers return to focusing on patient care instead of administrative tasks.

The trends indicate that healthcare is ready for this kind of transformation. The constant search for a better scribe solution shows that the industry is eager for a comprehensive tool that can truly streamline the documentation process. By stepping back and reevaluating the entire system, SOAPsuds AI Medical Scribe offers a potential game-changer for the future of healthcare.