1. Introduction: A recent review suggests that doctors now spend as much time documenting clinical care as they do actually performing it. This increase in clerical work load has been associated increased burnout, less effective patient-physician interaction, and decreased patient experience. Physician burnout—especially within primary care—has been reported widely; from academic publications to the mainstream media. Primary care clinicians are now pressured to see more patients, and document more thoroughly, leading to a feeling that it is increasingly difficult to deliver high quality care. Reducing the documentation burden is an attractive target for lessening the pressure on front-line providers because documentation is time consuming, can be delegated, and is more likely to be accurate if completed in real time. Recently, many healthcare providers have looked to lessen time spent documenting by teaming with medical scribes. Scribes have been shown to allow providers to practice more efficiently, increase access for patients, and provide an improved experience for both patients and providers; however most of this research is not in a primary care setting.
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