Virtual Scribe Services Decrease Documentation Burden Without Affecting Patient Satisfaction: A Randomized Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Efficiency

Background:

• Virtual scribe services (VSS) offer a modern approach to traditional scribing.
• VSS aim to alleviate physician administrative workload and improve patient-physician interaction.
• This study compares VSS to traditional dictation (TD) in an orthopaedic foot and ankle setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if VSS usage decreases documentation time for orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons.
• To determine if VSS impacts the patient experience compared to TD.
• To assess the efficiency and patient-reported outcomes of VSS in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• A prospective randomized controlled trial involving 50 new patients.
• Patients were assigned to either VSS or TD groups before their encounter.
• Data collected included in-exam room time, post-visit documentation time, and patient satisfaction surveys.

Main Results:

• VSS significantly reduced post-visit documentation time (1.2 min vs 5.8 min, P < .001).
• Documentation was completed during visits with VSS, unlike TD (0 min vs 118.2 min, P < .001).
• No significant differences were observed in patient satisfaction, empathy, understanding, or perceived visit duration.

Conclusions:

• VSS effectively reduces documentation time for orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons.
• VSS allows for real-time documentation completion without compromising patient satisfaction or quality metrics.
• VSS is a viable, HIPAA-compliant documentation strategy for improving practice efficiency.