Can Use of Scribes Improve Physician Satisfaction?

​Use of scribes improved all measured aspects of physician satisfaction in a study published in the September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Scribes are increasingly employed to reduce physician burden in clinical practices, the authors said, but high-quality evidence is lacking regarding their impact. In the study, physicians at an academic family medicine clinic were randomly assigned to alternate working one week with a scribe and one week without over the course of a year. The scribes drafted all relevant documentation, which the physicians reviewed before attestation and signing.