Tips for Using Virtual Medical Scribes to Improve the Workplace

Are you struggling to keep up with the demands of your job, constantly feeling overworked and underpaid? If so, you're not alone. According to a study, 51 percent of American workers are unhappy, unproductive, and potentially costing their employers money.

Problems of a toxic workplace

The problems of a toxic workplace are many and varied. First and foremost, a toxic work environment can harm employees' mental and physical health. Employees in a toxic workplace often feel stressed, anxious, and angry and may experience chronic fatigue, headaches, and stomach problems. In extreme cases, they may suffer PTSD or other mental health issues.

A toxic work environment can also damage employees' personal lives. It can cause them to have difficulty sleeping, miss important family events, and become alienated from their friends and family. Additionally, employees in a toxic workplace often have less time for themselves and may feel like they're constantly "on call." Burnout and job unhappiness may result from this.

Finally, a toxic work environment can be very costly for employers. Employees who are unhappy or stressed are less productive and more likely to make mistakes. This can lead to costly malpractice suits and other legal problems in the healthcare industry.

Additionally, unhappy employees are more likely to take time off work or quit outright. Due to these factors, it may be challenging to find and keep suitable employees. All of these factors together can lead to a loss in profits for businesses.

So how can you create a more positive work environment? One way is to use remote medical scribes.

Remote medical scribe

What is virtual scribing?

Virtual scribing is the use of a remote worker to handle clerical tasks in a medical office. This can include answering the phone, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance, and submitting medical records. Virtual scribes are usually healthcare professionals and can work remotely to help lighten the load of in-house staff.

A virtual medical scribe is trained to do every administrative task in your office just as a traditional assistant would. A remote scribe can generate comprehensive medical records and transcribe detailed medical notes based on the preferred established standards by the provider or physician assistant. They also can work with electronic health records, schedule appointments, confirm appointments, verify insurance, and get prior authorizations.

What advantages do remote medical scribes offer?

The use of a remote medical scribe has many advantages. Perhaps the most important benefit is that it can help you free up time so you can concentrate on giving patients high-quality care. Other advantages are:

● improved provider satisfaction

● better work-life balance

● increased productivity

● decreased charting burden

● more time for revenue-generating activities.

If you're looking for ways to create a more positive work environment, consider outsourcing some of your administrative tasks to our virtual scribes. Your in-house medical assistant can simply delegate data work to your virtual scribe, relieving them of endless medical documentation.

Here are some ways to create a more positive work environment with a remote medical scribe:

Encourage open communication between your medical scribe and staff.

Include your in-house medical assistant in outsourcing their administrative work to a virtual medical assistant. Let them know that their input and suggestions matter to you since this might be misconstrued as a threat of losing their job to a scribe.

Meeting in the medical or healthcare field.

Reassuring your clinic staff that the virtual scribes are meant to help them and not to compete with them helps to create a positive workplace where everyone is striving for a common goal instead of working against each other. Clarifying that each team member's role in practice promotes trust and nurtures loyalty.

Building trust between your workers and the virtual scribe requires openness. Share information openly and honestly, ensuring your in-house staff that scribes are there to assist you as a doctor and them. Remote medical scribe jobs would only benefit the practice when everyone gets on board for a common goal: delivering optimal patient care. The trained scribe would cover the data work to optimize doctor time and the staff to focus on delivering quality care.

In order to track and keep an eye on our virtual healthcare assistants, Portiva uses online time tracking software. It records the mouse and keyboard's movements and operations. In order to ensure transparency, Portiva's virtual assistants also enter into Business Associate Agreements (BAA) with our clients.

Conference with virtual medical scribe

Communication is essential for your staff to know that remote medical scribe jobs done by virtual assistants will take their place. Ensuring successful completion of clinical tasks would be the primary responsibility of your staff going forward. Knowing their specific responsibilities would secure their concern about their jobs and enable both your in-house and virtual staff to produce high-quality work when they share a common long-term interest in working together.

Training your new scribes would go more smoothly and effectively if the staff does not feel threatened and the scribe feels welcomed. A medical scribe benefits your staff as they can attend to clients instead of spending their time documenting clinical notes.

Free up your staff

A productive workplace requires open communication. Your medical scribes and in-house staff should feel comfortable contacting each other and communicating with physicians and clients to produce high-quality care.

Doctor at work

Medical scribes are familiar with medical terminology and can ensure complete documentation of every patient visit. This enables your staff to assist you with the physical exam without worrying about data entry or any other details needed for medical documentation.

Be open to improve

Encourage employees to share their ideas and concerns about the practice, other doctors, and clients. Listen to their input and tailor your patient interaction and healthcare process to improve your practice in the medical field.

Be certain that everyone is in agreement.

When you give a virtual medical scribe some of your work, it's essential to keep everyone in the loop. Make sure your staff knows what tasks are being outsourced to scribes to maintain quality patient care across the practice.

Access at your fingertips

If an employee or another provider needs documentation services, access to a patient document, or electronic health records, they would feel more comfortable asking the office manager or the virtual scribe when they are clear on everyone's part in the team.

Accurate medical terminology in every document

Most virtual scribes graduated from nursing school, which enables full delivery of care in the exam room, taking notes, or from a remote location handling phone calls from various healthcare providers. Virtual scribes also use the preferred data entry format given during training which is not only a sign of being on the same page with the practice but with the healthcare industry as a whole.

Physician burnout is also avoided when trained virtual scribes cover any data and real-time medical documentation needed by the medical industry. Medical documentation does not only protect the clients but the physicians as well.

A lot of documentation has to be accomplished to avail of the various medical or dental benefits from insurance companies, and doctors have to sign off on a lot of these before they can be approved. Having the paperwork done by the remote scribe and ready to be sent from the provider's computer saves the valuable doctor time and takes the burden off the staff from needing to stay after hours to finish such work.

Portiva puts a lot of time, money, and effort into hiring just the best employees who can fit into your workflow with little training in your standard procedures and software (just like any onsite staff).

Build a positive team environment

A positive team environment is essential for productive practice. Encourage remote scribes, staff, and other doctors to collaborate and support each other to enable your practice to cater to more clients.

Quality patient care

When doctors, remote scribes, and in-house staff love to work together, it benefits patients more. Scribes can watch patients from a remote location and alert the staff for anyone who needs immediate assistance, for example. Remote scribes can also get in touch with physicians or other providers in case a physician is on vacation and one of their patients has an emergency.

Offer flexible working arrangements.

Flexible working arrangements can improve work-life balance and reduce stress levels for physician and their staff. Having a remote scribe, you can consider offering your staff flexible start and finish times and the option to work from home occasionally.

Outsourcing to remote scribes also allows you to scale up or down as needed.

Having a remote scribe can be helpful when your business is going through a growth spurt or during a busy season when you have to call another provider to assist you with patient examination procedures.

Increased productivity

Many healthcare providers are daunted by how much time they spend accomplishing paperwork. The staff often have to work more behind a desk than with patients. Many healthcare workers went into the field expecting to care for as many people and not be stuck at the desk the entire day. When you outsource work to remote scribes, you free up time for your in-house staff to focus on more critical clinical tasks.

Increased productivity, improved patient satisfaction, and a more positive work environment

When your staff is not bogged down with administrative work like insurance verification, calls from patients and other providers, or updating electronic health records, they are less stressed and can provide better patient care.

Set goals and provide feedback

Setting goals and providing feedback is a crucial part of any job. When remote medical scribe knows what is expected of them, they are more likely to meet or exceed those expectations.

Provide your staff and scribe with regular feedback

Be sure to set realistic goals. This will help them to stay on track and feel motivated. Celebrate successes together and learn from mistakes.

The healthcare industry is constantly changing. New medical technologies and treatments are being developed all the time, and healthcare professionals must be able to keep up with these changes. Giving workers and scribes feedback is one method to achieve this.

Regular feedback can help staff and scribes stay on track and meet or exceed expectations. It can also help them learn from their mistakes and improve their work. Feedback should be positive as well as negative and should be tailored to the individual.

Healthcare professionals should set practical goals for their staff and scribes and provide feedback regularly to help them achieve these goals.

Handle conflict constructively

Try to compromise and find a resolution that is beneficial for everyone involved.

Conflict is an inevitable part of any workplace, and the healthcare field is no exception. When healthcare professionals handle conflict constructively, it can benefit everyone involved.

Staying professional and avoiding personal attacks can help resolve conflicts quickly and efficiently. Compromising and finding a beneficial resolution for everyone involved can help maintain a positive work environment. Handle conflict constructively by staying professional and avoiding personal attacks.

Cost savings

Outsourcing to virtual scribes can save you money on overhead costs, such as rent, utilities, and office supplies. This allows you to invest in employee development by providing training and development opportunities. Employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to be engaged and productive.

Portia's virtual assistants have certificates in HIPAA-compliant training, go through a comprehensive application and interview process based on their capacity to function in a distant medical setting, and are appointed accordingly. Work in a rural medical setting. To assure quality at a low cost, each has undergone a background check and received HIPAA training certification.

When you can save costs by hiring a virtual scribe, you will have more budget for bonuses, staff parties, and the like. This can raise staff morale and help them cope with the stress of their regular jobs.

Improved work-life balance

Hire a remote scribe to assist in promoting a good work-life balance among staff members. Having a remote scribe handle the paperwork that keeps you and your staff in the office longer provides you time for relaxation after work. Provide your staff with the resources and support they need to manage their time effectively.

Outsourcing to virtual scribes can help you achieve better balance.

The importance of relaxation after work

There is a lot of research to suggest that relaxation after work is essential for employee health and well-being. According to an American Psychological Association study, workers who don't unwind after work are more likely to feel anxious stressed out, and worn out.

Another study by the University of Toronto found that employees who took time to relax after work was more productive and had better mental health. The study also found that employees who didn't take time for themselves were more likely to experience burnout.

Healthcare professionals need to encourage their staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance. One way to do this is by hiring a remote scribe to free up your time for relaxation after work. When you have more free time, you can spend it with your family and friends or pursue hobbies and other interests.

Virtual scribes can help you create a more positive work environment by taking on most of the administrative tasks in your office that can be done remotely. This allows your in-house staff to focus on their duties and maintain a positive attitude.

Portia's virtual scribes are healthcare professionals, so they understand the demands of the medical field. They might also make it possible for you to cut back on overhead costs. Outsourcing to virtual scribes is an excellent option for healthcare professionals who want to improve their work-life balance.

Understandably, providers can be reluctant to try having a virtual scribe, and Portiva enables you to try having one without any long-term commitment. If at any time you decide that it is not for you, you can cancel our services. We allow you to save costs without compromising quality with our virtual scribes, who are trained and have the skills necessary to be easily integrated into your practice.

A positive work environment is essential for a productive workplace. If you're looking for ways to create a more positive work environment, outsourcing to Portiva virtual medical scribes services is a great option.