Digital Scribes in Dermatology: Implications for Practice.

Accurate documentation in dermatology is vital, as lesion descriptions, locations, and evolution inform treatment. 1 Zhao C.Y. Ang R.Y.N. George R. Tan M.H. Murrell D.F. The quality of dermatology consultation documentation in discharge summaries: a retrospective analysis. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2016; 2: 23-27https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2015.12.003 Crossref PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar For each hour physicians spend on direct patient care, they may spend up to 2 hours on electronic health record–related tasks. 2 Arndt B.G. Beasley J.W. Watkinson M.D. et al. Tethered to the EHR: primary care physician workload assessment using EHR event log data and time-motion observations. Ann Fam Med. 2017; 15: 419-426https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2121 Crossref PubMed Scopus (368) Google Scholar Documenting during clinical visits is difficult, often necessitating delayed note completion, potentially resulting in the loss of the accurate capture of points addressed during the visit. Medical scribes may mitigate this risk by accurately and efficiently completing visit documentation; however, they require an additional individual to be present; can cost upwards of $50,000 annually, depending upon their scope and employee classification; and have high turnover rates. 3 Nambudiri V.E. Watson A.J. Buzney E.A. Kupper T.S. Rubenstein M.H. Yang F.C. Medical scribes in an academic dermatology practice. JAMA Dermatol. 2018; 154: 101-103https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.3658 Crossref PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar ,4 Ghatnekar S. Faletsky A. Nambudiri V.E. Digital scribe utility and barriers to implementation in clinical practice: a scoping review. Health Technol (Berl). 2021; : 1-7https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-021-00568-0 Crossref PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar An emerging technology—the digital scribe—can perform nearly all the duties of traditional medical scribes while reducing costs and limiting the numbers of staff in examination rooms (Fig 1). These benefits can increase efficiency, reducing the amount of time physicians spend documenting and presenting an opportunity to expand access to dermatologic care.