Selection and Implementation of Virtual Scribe Solutions to Reduce Documentation Burden: A Mixed Methods Pilot

• Published in: AMIA Summits on Translational Science proceedings Vol. 2024; p. 230
• Main Authors: Hudelson, Carly, Gunderson, Melissa A, Pestka, Debbie, Christiaansen, Tori, Stotka, Bret, Kissock, Lynn, Markowitz, Rebecca, Badlani, Sameer, Melton, Genevieve B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2024
• ISSN: 2153-4063; 2153-4063

Electronic health record (EHR) documentation is a leading reason for clinician burnout. While technology-enabled solutions like virtual and digital scribes aim to improve this, there is limited evidence of their effectiveness and minimal guidance for healthcare systems around solution selection and implementation. A transdisciplinary approach, informed by clinician interviews and other considerations, was used to evaluate and select a virtual scribe solution to pilot in a rapid iterative sprint over 12 weeks. Surveys, interviews, and EHR metadata were analyzed over a staggered 30 day implementation with live and asynchronous virtual scribe solutions. Among 16 pilot clinicians, documentation burden metrics decreased for some but not all. Some clinicians had highly positive comments, and others had concerns regarding scribe training and quality. Our findings demonstrate that virtual scribes may reduce documentation burden for some clinicians and describe a method for a collaborative and iterative technology selection process for digital tools in practice.