What is a Medical Telescribe and How is the Role Changing in 2024?
You're a busy clinician (and who isn’t?) who wants to focus on patient care, not paperwork. Yet spending hours charting and documenting inevitably pries you away from patients.
You've heard about medical telescribes who can remotely take notes and complete EHR charts for you. Butare human telescribes really the best solution in 2024?
With advances in Artificial Intelligence, there may be a few surprises to consider before you go all-in on a telescribe.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Why do clinicians use medical telescribes?
What are the downsides?
What are emerging alternatives to medical telescribes?
AI scribes: All win, no pain
Can AI scribes fully replace medical telescribes?
Tips for implementing AI in your clinical practice
Let’s get started!
Why do clinicians use medical telescribes?
Many doctors use virtual medical telescribes to offload time-consuming charting and EHR documentation.
Here’s what they get out of it:
Productivity goes up: When telescribes tackle routine paperwork, doctors see more patients and provide better care. Bafflingly, studies show physicians spend nearly 2 hours on EHR tasks for every hour of direct patient care. Telescribes can reduce that to around 30 minutes, boosting productivity by up to 50 percent.
They save plenty of money: While telescribes do charge for their services, many practices find that increased clinician productivity and reduced administrative overhead ultimately save cash. The more time doctors spend with patients, the more patients they can see and bill for - a big win for the bottom line.
Documentation remains compliant and accurate: Professional telescribes go through intensive training to learn medical terminology, charting best practices, and EHR systems; they provide fast, accurate documentation and make sure all entries meet legal and regulatory requirements. This helps clinicians reduce common (and costly) documentation errors.
What are the downsides of a medical telescribe?
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. There are some downsides to hiring a telescribe.
Let’s take a look:
They’re expensive: Hiring and paying telescribes can be an expensive ongoing expense for practices, especially smaller ones. Telescribes typically charge $25 to $45 or more per hour of work.
There are risks: Allowing telescribes access to sensitive patient health information poses risks of data breaches, HIPAA violations, or patient discomfort.
Room for mistake: Though telescribes aim for accuracy, they rely on hearing physician-patient conversations, and some details may be missed or recorded incorrectly. Physicians still have to give notes a good once-over.
Emerging alternatives to medical telescribes in 2024
While medical telescribes have traditionally dealt with medical documentation, emerging technologies are already providing viable alternatives.
Let’s go in deeper:
AI-powered solutions are making their way into the healthcare sector, with artificial intelligence systems designed to automate clinical documentation now entering the market. These AI scribes use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to accurately capture the nuances of patient encounters directly into electronic health records (EHRs), which simplifies the documentation process for physicians.
The introduction of AI scribes offers a significant advantage over traditional telescribe services by eliminating the need to manage external services and the concerns associated with transmitting private patient data to third parties. They provide an on-demand, scalable solution that doesn't generate extra costs for hiring and training, addressing a major pain point for healthcare providers.
EHR systems are already evolving to include automated documentation features, which leverage templates to pull information from a patient's chart into notes. This innovation basically leaves physicians to only verify and tweak the pre-populated data, potentially saving time but risking the loss of detail and accuracy – especially in complex cases where human or AI intervention might lead to better results.
AI scribes: Cost savings without the downsides
Using software instead of people to handle routine documentation and charting tasks significantly reduces costs.
How? AI scribes charge a flat monthly or annual subscription fee, rather than an hourly rate – this can lead to huge savings down the line. We’re talking thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
Then, with virtual scribes, there are no concerns about sensitive patient data being accessed or transmitted improperly. Most high-end AI scribes integrate directly with the EHR and follow the same strict compliance protocols as physicians.
Also, physicians can get through more patients in less time with an AI scribe. They don’t have to pause to dictate notes or wait for a human scribe.
Since the AI works as fast as the physician needs to go, it can help them win back as much as 2 hours per day.
Of course, AI scribes are still software, so they do need a bit of an initial investment of time to implement and for physicians to become comfortable with the new technology.
Can an AI scribe really replace a medical telescribe?
AI scribes are trained using massive amounts of data to understand medical terminology, diagnose codes, and common workflows.
Some AI scribes can handle basic documentation and charting tasks, and the best of the bunch can handle even more complex tasks that only humans could do a year or two ago.
Also, AI scribes are getting smarter and expanding their capabilities at an accelerated rate; at this point, many telescribes are finding it hard to match their accuracy and reliability.
However, human telescribes understand context and nuance in a way that’s still hard for most AI systems to replicate.
They can ask clarifying questions, rephrase physicians' statements for clarity, and handle exceptions or non-standard situations more easily.
Telescribes also build relationships and familiarity with providers over time, learning individual styles, preferences, and workflows.
Note, though, that the best AI systems are also fast making tremendous strides in those fields as well.
But, for high-volume, routine documentation, AI scribes can already exceed human telescribes in both cost-cutting and quality.
But in complex cases, especially those involving sensitive patient issues, human insight and empathy remain a tremendous, intangible asset.
Right now, rather than replacing telescribes outright, AI is more likely to augment human work in an emerging collaborative landscape.
All in all, while new technologies often spark fears of job loss, the role of medical telescribes is likely to evolve rather than disappear.
Best practices for using an AI scribe
Using an AI scribe effectively requires a bit of an adjustment period.
Here are a few tips to get the most out of your new digital assistant:
You need to train AI in order to make the most of it. Emphasize the importance of regular use to improve its understanding of your specific speech patterns, medical terminology, and documentation style.
Initially, take extra care to speak clearly and correct any gaffes, helping out the AI in its learning process.
Starting with routine documentation tasks can build confidence in your AI scribe's capabilities, suggesting a gradual approach to incorporating technology into your practice.
First, begin with simple entries like vital signs and basic patient histories before progressing to more complex documentation, allowing both you and the AI to adjust smoothly.
Maintain a natural way of speaking during patient encounters for the best results with AI technology, highlighting that the AI scribe is designed to adapt to your normal conversational tone and style.
There's no need to over-articulate or revamp your speaking habits, as the AI performs at its best when interactions are as authentic as possible.
Regularly reviewing and editing the AI-generated documentation maximizes accuracy and reliability, underscoring the importance of overseeing the AI's work before finalizing any patient notes.
Despite huge advances in AI technology, manual checks are still absolutely essential to catch and correct any errors in critical patient information, such as medication dosages and vital signs. Plus, this also helps the AI keep learning.
One thing’s for sure: As tech continues advancing, it seems inevitable that AI and collaborative solutions will become the new normal.
For now, it’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons and choose what's best for your unique needs!
Next steps
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