Recently on Twitter, I came across an interesting conversation regarding the usefulness of scribes by physicians. One physician, who never used them, published an article against their use.

However, the other physician responded via his blog in praise of their efficient use. But what really caught my attention was how the responding physician stated he felt there was a place for scribes in nursing.

In fact, he went on to say, "Imagine, nurses nursing rather than staring at screens, checking boxes! It would be hugely liberating for them." Wait, hold the presses — someone to help the volumes of documentation — I am all ears!

I remember when I first encountered scribes in the hospital. I was teaching clinicals at a local hospital about three years ago and I sent my students to the ER for observations. This was our first clinical rotation at the hospital.

When I got reports from my student, she started telling me about this person who followed the doctor around and typed for them. At first, I thought the student misunderstood what was happening, as often occurs with nursing students. So, I went back to the ER with my student and I was introduced to the concept of the medical scribe.

According to most reports, and in discussions with the ER and doctors I encounter at the hospitals, scribes are very successful. They have allowed the doctors to be freed up for more patient care, and documentation is reported to be more accurate.

Based on these benefits, nursing would be a good fit for the use of scribes, especially with the implementation of the electronic medical record. Documentation of nursing care has always consumed much of the bedside nurse's time, so it would seem logical to find ways to solve this issue. As much as any nurse would love to have a scribe assisting with documentation, the economic feasibility is probably not reasonable.

However, the nurse in the role of the scribe has started to become a viable option in many physicians' offices. Again, with the implementation of the EMR, physicians have found themselves now bogged down with documentation constraints that didn't exist previously.

One successful model is using the nurse in the office as the scribe. Not only does this free up the physician for more directed patient care, but it includes the nurse in the patient's care. This becomes helpful when triaging phone calls and follow-ups, as the nurse now is an integrated member of the team, not just a transcriptionist.

Although the hospital nurse is not likely to get a scribe to help them with documentation, the use of scribes continues to evolve and their usage will likely continue to increase in areas not yet imagined.

If you would like to read more about the articles that initiated this piece, they can be found at Physician's Weekly and GruntDoc.