Medical Transcription vs. Medical Scribe – What’s the Difference?

Medical transcription services are highly versatile, and the topic of ‘medical transcription vs. scribe’ often arises due to their similar nature. Today we’re going to take a closer look at the differences between these two professionals, so you can determine what’s appropriate for your medical practice needs.

Medical Transcriptionist

A medical transcriptionist is generally someone that works off-site. So you would, for example, send all of your audio files to the company that you outsourced your medical transcription work to, and they would then take what was included in those files and enter the information into an applicable database or EHR/EMR system that the client can access.

Medical Scribe

A scribe’s work is similar to what a medical transcriptionist does, except it’s done in-office or on-site and in a more direct way. The main difference is this individual primarily takes appointment-related notes and directly enters them into electrical health records. Therefore, a medical scribe mainly does EHR transcription, although it’s done more directly on-site. There’s also typically no audio file transcription involved.

Deciding What’s Best for Your Needs

There is no right or wrong choice between medical transcription service and scribe-related service. It all comes down to what’s appropriate for your needs and suitable for your budget. If, for instance, you only need to document minimal patient-related details when they arrive and check out, then you would benefit more from working with a scribe. However, if you have more extensive transcription needs, it makes more sense to explore the possibilities with medical transcription as your primary service instead. This is especially true if the following factors or circumstances apply:

• You don’t have in-house staff with the time to transcribe physicians’ notes.
• You have a lot of patient-related information that’s first recorded as an audio file – e.g., patient notes, follow-up notes, observations, etc.

It depends on how your practice or office operates. If the scribe service fits in better, it makes more sense to choose this option. A transcription service is typically the better choice if this isn’t the case. Remember, you can always benefit from both services if need be, so it’s not a one-or-the-other situation all the time.

Learn More about Medical Transcription Services

Medical transcription services are undoubtedly beneficial and even more comprehensive and personalized than what’s often possible with a medical scribe. Whether you have a new practice, a busy one, or other transcription needs, transcription services can be beneficial and cost-effective. Contact us today to learn more about how you can benefit from a medical transcription company.