Barbara Blodi, MD, Matthew D. Davis Professor, medical director of the Fundus Photograph Reading Center and retina specialist, and Mark Lucarelli, MD, FACS, were invited to the Licensed to Lead Podcast for a conversation on physician burnout and the use of medical scribes. Dr. Lucarelli was instrumental in ushering in the scribe program at UW DOVS.
More About This Episode:
Dr. Obetz describes how the scribe program and the resulting “very robust, descriptive and helpful notes” helped turn the Emergency Department into the “nerve center” of Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
- Scribes helped ECC become an early adopter of the EMR
- Physicians as problem solvers who don’t mind “tinkering” with processes
- Scribes play a role in helping to address diversity issues
Dr. Blodi leads the Fundus Photograph Reading Center at the University of Wisconsin, an internationally recognized research center. With her many roles and speaking engagements all over the world, Dr. Blodi relies on her remote scribe to increase her efficiency and allow her to fully connect with her patients.
- Scribes make it easier to balance teaching, patient care, research and leadership responsibilities
- A quality issue: we want the right information in the chart
- Scribes increase both patient and physician satisfaction
Dr. Lucarelli found that in surgery the EMR was useful, but in clinic it was onerous. At the peak of his expertise with over 20 years as an oculofacial surgeon, he wasn’t sure how much longer he would practice. The scribe program was a “game changer.” You will hear his enthusiasm for his scribe, team and patients.
- The combination of LEAN and remote scribes reoriented his team toward creating an excellent, efficient, personalized patient experience
- Scribes not only input progress notes—they do much, much more