Question

Consider why scribes are being used within the healthcare system. In this discussion you will consider how the patient might feel with a scribe in the room. From a patient’s point of view, discuss how you would feel about a third person being in the room when you are speaking with your doctor. What can the medical practice do to help patients become accustomed to scribes? What can a doctor and scribe do to reassure the patient? Is there ever a time when a scribe should leave the exam room? Use the information you learned from exploring the websites under the Learning Activities area to help you write a strong post.

Answer 1

Scribes are the people who are usually appointed to scribe or document or scribble the conversation or the encounter between the patient and the physician which occurs in real in order to document all the required information in the electronic health record.

The scribes are being used in various hospitals and health care setups today in order to help the physician and the nurses to free themselves and spend their more time in patient contact or interaction. The main duty of a scribe is to accompany the physician to all his work throughout the day and document all the patients who are encountered in real time. The scribe helps in producing a referral letter for the physician, book the appointments and manage the documents in the EHR system.

From a patient's point of view, I think a patient finds it very odd and uneasy with the presence of a scribe in the room. The patients are given entire privacy to discuss about all his conditions with the physician and does not even allow the family members to accompany them but in the presence of an entirely strange person in the room along with them and the physician will make them feel uncomfortable. People of all the areas where scribes are appointed for the accompanying of physicians should be informed and introduced about them in advance and in better way.

In order to reassure the patient there should be proper introduction of the scribes and their role to the people through various means. They should be informed about the role played by a scribe and the importance of the scribe present during their interaction. The scribe should always be humble and greet the patients with a very good mood and happy face. He should try to interact with the patient and try to win their confidence before the starting of the session. The physician also plays an important role by helping the patient to learn about the person they are going to be with in the chamber during their session with the physician and his nature.

I think a scribe should have the knowledge about the respect of the patients feelings and rights. He should leave the room when the patient thinks he wants to be left alone along with the physician for some reason , also the scribe should privacy when the patient is taken for few examinations done for the patient and can document the findings later.