AAOS – Benefits of a Medical Scribe
Physicians can spend more time with patients; charting accuracy is increased
Scribes have been used to document and record events for thousands of years. In modern medicine, the scribe’s function is to accompany the physician during a patient examination and document the visit in the patient’s medical chart.
In orthopaedics, a scribe is ideally either a physician’s assistant, nurse, or a certified athletic trainer who already understands the specialty. Less costly office staff members can also be trained as scribes, but may take longer to learn the medical terminology. Once trained, however, they are useful adjuncts on busy days or for covering vacations.
