If your organization is considering the use of a scribe service, you might be wondering what you need to know to ensure you hire the best one available. There are an estimated 100,000 scribes in the United States alone and dozens of scribe companies from which to choose help. That’s a lot of options. Take a look at four important questions you need to be asking yourself when hiring out scribe services:
What Kind of Training Does a Scribe Need to Work with Us?
The medical industry is vast. There are many specialties with many different responsibilities and for which a variety of skills is needed. For instance, just the terminology used in each can differ drastically. Thus, it’s important to establish the skillset you need a scribe to possess and then verify that the scribe services you are considering can deliver candidates who match it. Medical scribes aren’t mandated to have any standard training, but a reputable company will hire qualified candidates who are clinically trained and will provide instruction in the specific details of your medical specialty so that scribes are fully prepared to work in your specific environment.
What Type of Demeanor Do We Need Our Employees to Have?
Securing a well-trained scribe who understands HIPAA-compliance is, of course, critical. However, organizations also need to consider the characteristics of the people they hire. Some offices are laidback; others are more formal. The culture of any workplace centers on its staff, so you need to define the ideal characteristics of your employees and hire a scribe services provider that can supply scribes who possess them. Exceptional scribe services vet their scribes for superior personal qualities, opting to work with intelligent, self-starters who are reliable, honest and fun and who have a penchant for overdelivering. In addition, they work hard to find scribes who mirror the values of other members of your team so that you are able to maintain a similar working environment once they are hired. At Provider’s Choice Scribe Services, for instance, we take the time to match our clients with individual scribes possessing the exact qualities, schedules and skills needed to work in certain situations and alongside various personalities.
How Flexible Can We Be with a Scribe?
It’s important to assess whether or not your own staff will have the flexibility to work with scribes. In very busy offices, having a scribe can create more work if the scribe services provider doesn’t offer ongoing management tools. Indeed, the best scribe providers supply alternate scribes when regulars are off sick or on vacation; help their clients track office productivity; routinely evaluate scribe performance; and offer additional scribe training when necessary.
Are There Any Additional Costs or Fees?
Finally, you need to think about your budget. One of the primary reasons to hire a medical scribe is to enhance office efficiency so that billing can more quickly commence. Don’t waste time and money dealing with scribe services that don’t have a concise and straightforward plan for their costs. Hidden fees can quickly add up, so having a budget and sticking to it means avoiding scribe companies that don’t have a simple plan for payment.
Want to Learn More?
Medical scribe services can offer beneficial support for all types of healthcare providers. To learn more about what you need to be thinking about when deciding whether or not a specific scribe partner will work well in your own unique environment, please contact Provider’s Choice Scribe Services. We aim to set the standard in medical scribe services and know how to satisfy client needs in the most productive and affordable way.
