In 2022, the new Medical Scribe Program Team developed a unique, five-week training tailored to scribes who would be working at UNM Hospital. The curriculum, both synchronous and asynchronous, is comprised of didactic modules, shadowing, and evaluation. In early 2023, the first scribes were trained and began scribing in the Emergency Department Resuscitative Unit (EDRU).  In 2024, additional scribes were hired to work in the ED’s Vertical Care area and Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

A medical scribe is a non-clinical member of the health care team who documents patient encounters in real-time so providers can focus more on patient care. Their primary role is recording patient encounters in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and also includes non-clinical tasks such as obtaining prior medical records, contacting nursing facilities, communicating with the on-site pharmacist, prompting providers to interpret lab results, and calling for a language interpreter.

The Scribe Program helps promote ease of practice by reducing the amount of time providers spend on administrative tasks.  An analysis on the impact of scribes in the EDRU conducted in 2019 by the Department of Emergency Medicine¹ found these positive outcomes with the use of scribes in the EDRU:

• Percentage of reported time physicians spent on documentation during a shift decreased significantly.
• Nearly all attending physicians reported being satisfied or very satisfied with having a scribe on shift.
• Number of patients seen increased slightly.
• Number of relative value units increased.
• Shift toward higher billing code levels.

The Medical Scribe Program is led by Dr. Courtney Lapham-Simpson, Medical Director and Associate Professor, with the assistance of Christie McAuley, Program Specialist; Jessica Murray, Lead Scribe, and six scribes:   Adrian Hernandez, Prabhleen Kaur, Vivian Liu, Jessica Murray, Fritz Peraza, and Jalynn Sais.

Our program team oversees hiring, training, managing, scheduling, and conducting performance evaluations for scribes throughout various areas of UNM Hospital.

Are you considering having scribes in your UNMH department, division, or clinic? Contact us if you have questions or would like more information about tailoring a scribe program to support your providers.

¹Crandall, C and Albright, D. Impact of scribes in the EDRU: Econometric analysis. April 25, 2019.