How Medical Transcription Benefits A Doctor’s Time

We have all heard the saying, time is money. Believe it or not, this is true in every aspect of a business. In a medical setting, the difference between saving a person’s life or losing a patient on the table, is time. Patients come to the hospital expecting immediate help, and in some cases, the waiting time is far too long. Even in an office setting with a primary care provider, the wait time can still be too long.

However, the problem is not that the doctor has a massive overflow of patients, while that may play a part. Instead, physicians simply does not have enough one-on-one time to go around. Medical transcription is a viable solution for any medical practice that spends too much time on medical documentation.

Doctoring requires patience, skills of the human anatomy and attention to visible and non-visible details. Doctors have to be alert mentally and physically. A tired, overworked, burned out doctor cannot provide sufficient or adequate patient care. This is the kind of problem many doctors face every day, and unfortunately the patient-provider relationship suffers because of it.

So why is one-on-one time with patients so important, and how can medical transcription benefit patients and doctors alike? Let’s find out.

The Respect of A Doctor’s Time Should Be Priority

Doctors are required to have strong dictation skills and perfect bedside manners, making the demand for more time nearly impossible. Not to mention the documentation of medical records takes away from the length of time doctors get to spend with each patient.

According to recent studies, there will be a shortage of doctors in the United States in coming years. This means that doctors in this day and age can expect their office to be bombarded with dozens of new patients. This also leads us to believe that there will be an increase in electronic health record (EHR) documentation.

While this influx may seem overwhelming, medical transcription services can help. When integrated within your EHR, medical transcription benefits your doctors and staff by alleviating the time they would otherwise spend operating within their EHR to input patient information. Because of these benefits, patient care and the patient experience can significantly improve.

The Struggles of EHR Documentation

Unknowingly so, the use of EHR systems greatly reduces the quality and quantity of time doctors get to spend building relationships with their patients. Doctors should not be dragged away three-fourths of the time when patients are in need of medical attention.

Even when doctors make notations in a patient’s chart, there should be a quality check to ensure that the information is inputted accurately in the file. Doctors do not have the extra time to check and recheck files, without neglecting patients already waiting to be seen. In some ways, EHR has turned doctors into data entry operators.

There should be much consideration given when it comes to a doctor’s time. Sometimes doctors have to leave one patient room and head off to see another patient, with little or no notice. Or, they may have back-to-back appointments scheduled, forcing them to hurry from one patient to another. These doctors will undoubtedly spend all day recording notes, updating patient files and going over treatment plans for aftercare follow-up visits, costing them even more lost time.

Do Doctors Really Need Help?

In reality, this should not be the job of the doctor, but of a transcriptionist. Doctors have far too many other responsibilities that require their undivided attention. EHR systems and tedious documentation have literally pulled doctors away from their primary responsibility, the care of the patient. So much so, in fact, that the average patient turnaround time is between 10 minutes and 30 minutes. While this also depends on how much traffic is flowing in and out of the office, it goes to show how little time doctors truly have with their patients.

How EHR Impacts Doctors

Some doctors find the EHR system to be frustrating, challenging and over demanding. However, others might find the system beneficial. Nevertheless, EHR systems take times away from both doctors and patients.

One benefit of EHR, though, is how it aids doctors with hard-to-read handwriting. Much of the information that goes into a patient’s medical file, and later claimed a mistake or error, is due to doctor’s with poor penmanship. Doctors are notorious for writing out prescriptions that no one can read. Even some pharmacies have problems deciphering physician handwriting!

However, outsourcing your medical transcriptions to a team of highly skilled medical scribes can help eliminate this issue.

Medical Scribes Can Help Improve The Patient-Provider Relationship

Digital record keeping is not all bad. In fact, it’s one of the best parts of modern healthcare! Doctors have access to patient files quicker than ever, referrals are shared almost immediately with other physicians, and insurance companies receive patient claims sooner. When patient documentation is recorded by someone other than the physician, it’s a win-win solution for everyone.

When a scribe handles all of the patient documentation, physicians are able to spend more one-on-one time with their patients. This gives them the time they need to improve the patient-provider relationship and patient care.

The Benefits of Professional Medical Transcription Services

When you outsource your medical transcriptions to professional scribes, you are sure to see a difference within your practice. Not only will scribes free up a physician’s time by completing lengthy paperwork, but they can also update patient information, correct any inaccuracies such as misspelled words and typos, and clear up any alerts or red flags that may pop up.

Here at DataMatrix Medical, our transcriptionists are trained to understand medical jargon and terminology, as well as a variety of tones and dialects. This ensures that your transcriptions will be complete and accurate—as well as on time!

We value the time of your doctors and medical staff, which is why we developed our solutions to eliminate the daily tasks your physicians dislike and give them the time to focus on patient care once again.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of our medical transcription services and its many benefits, contacts us to learn about our free, two-week medical transcription trial. But first, download our free case study, How My Two-Week Medical Transcription Trial Changed My Practice, below to learn how our solutions transformed the daily life of one of our clients.

 

Content was originally written on December 5, 2017. Content was refreshed on July 1, 2019.