All Scribe-X scribes commit to 1 year in the role at a minimum, though many stay beyond that for 2 or 3 years. On average, they stay in the role close to 1.5 years. For the busy provider who relies on their scribe, this means most years will be a scribe transition year.
This is where Scribe-X spends much of our effort, behind the scenes. We are always planning upcoming scribe transitions, to avoid gaps in services and assure the incoming scribe benefits from the workflows and preferences that the outgoing scribe spent the prior year(s) refining.
Whenever possible, we plan the transition such that the incoming scribe spends time learning directly from the outgoing scribe. Since it takes about 1 month to fully train a scribe, sometimes members of our training team, or other experienced scribes, step in to bridge the gap. They will cross train with the exiting scribe and utilize a robust provider profile, updated by the exiting scribe. These scribes will cover until the ideal scribe is identified, usually within 1-2 weeks, and then lead the 2-3-week apprenticeship training for the incoming scribe.
Clinics can help assure transitions go smoothly by communicating with the Scribe-X support team on a regular basis. Every clinic has an assigned staffing coordinator and education supervisor, who manage their scribe program. Sometimes the clinic hears first about a scribe’s plans to exit. Or sometimes, the current scribe may not be doing everything exactly how the provider would prefer. The sooner we learn this, the sooner we can adapt and provide the necessary resources to get the program back on track.
“Scribe-X is committed to providing the intensive support during scribes transitions necessary to select the right new scribe, prepare them well, and avoid and service gaps in the process. The more feedback we receive from the providers in the program, the better job we can do supporting them. And when providers catch wind that their scribe may be leaving – even if their program’s start is 6 months away – we want to know so we can begin planning early.” - Jack Graham, COO and Partner