As a relatively new addition to practices and hospitals, standards for medical scribing widely vary across the healthcare industry. Take, for instance, medical scribe hourly pay. Several factors inform how much a scribe gets paid. Let's look at some of these below!
Medical Scribe Hourly Pay: Remote Freelancers
According to ZipRecruiter, a US-based medical scribe earns $14 per hour on average or approximately $28,400 per year. Furthermore, freelance medical scribes may charge more than managed remote medical scribes for a few reasons:
- Overhead costs: Managed remote medical scribe services have overhead costs such as hiring, training, and supervising the scribes, as well as maintaining the necessary technology and infrastructure. These costs are typically worked into the flat monthly fee that clients pay. Freelance medical scribes do not have the same structure and may charge more to cover their expenses.
- Experience and qualifications: Freelance medical scribes with more experience and higher qualifications, such as advanced medical degrees, may command higher hourly rates. They may have a deeper understanding of medical terminology and documentation requirements and may be able to provide a higher level of service.
- Flexibility and availability: Freelance scribes may charge more because they prefer the flexibility to choose their clients and projects and may only accept high-paying projects. In contrast, managed remote medical scribe services sell convenience, which means offering scribes at more competitive rates.
- Industry standards: The remote medical scribing industry is relatively new, with few standards. The pay rate can vary greatly depending on the company or healthcare facility that hires the scribe; freelance scribes may charge more as they have more flexibility to negotiate the rate.
It's important to note that the hourly pay rate for medical scribes, whether freelance or managed, can also vary depending on the location, industry standards, and competition in the area. It's always good to get a quote from different scribing services and compare the costs and benefits offered.
Medical Scribe Hourly Pay: Managed Remote Services
This type of medical scribe typically works for third-party providers or employment agencies rather than for the physicians or hospitals they assist. These agencies handle the scribes' hiring, training, scheduling, and compensation and may have different policies.
Typically, a staffing agency would charge a percentage of the hired medical scribe's wages. For example, if the agency has a markup of 50% and the scribe's rate is $10 per hour, the party hiring the scribe would pay $15 per hour worked.
The markup might differ depending on how much automation the company uses, how experienced their scribes are, what other skills their scribes have, and several other factors.
Medical Scribe Hourly Pay: International Wages
Medical scribe salaries may also vary depending on where the scribe is located. When you hire a remote scribe, you can benchmark their pay to the going rate for recorders in their area, which creates a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Take, for instance, the average monthly salary for medical scribes in Mexico. According to the World Salaries website, scribes earn approximately 25,108 MXN (1,336 USD) per month. Meanwhile, medical scribes in India take home around 23,641 INR (290.46 USD) every month. On average, medical scribes in the Philippines earn 44,650 PHP (818.41 USD) every month.
Keep in mind that these are figures for onsite medical scribes. They are also rough estimates—World Salaries does not disclose how they gather their data and what year their information is from.
Hiring a Remote Medical Scribe: Advantages
Hiring a remote medical scribe is a cost-effective solution to physician burnout and overload. Transcription and administrative tasks are a tedious but necessary part of healthcare, and having a medical scribe provides facilities with many benefits. Here are some of them.
Medical Scribe Hourly Pay is Cost-Effective
Remote medical scribing can help reduce the administrative costs for the healthcare facility by streamlining the documentation process and reducing the need for additional staff.
It can also help decrease the risk of errors or omissions in documentation, saving costs in the long run by reducing the number of further visits or tests. Remote scribing also allows for more virtual visits, saving transportation and facility costs for patients and providers.
Efficiency in Charting and Documentation
Hiring a remote medical scribe allows for real-time documentation of patient encounters, which can help ensure that all relevant information is captured and recorded accurately. This can improve the overall efficiency of the documentation process and reduce the risk of errors or omissions.
Reduced Administrative Burden on Physicians
With a remote medical scribe, physicians can spend more time focusing on the patient during the visit rather than documenting the encounter. This can reduce the administrative burden on physicians and allow them to provide better care to their patients.
Increased Patient Satisfaction and Care
By allowing physicians to spend more time with patients, remote medical scribing can help improve patient satisfaction and the quality of care. It also allows physicians to focus on the patient's needs, concerns, and questions rather than on documenting the encounter.
Hiring a Remote Medical Scribe: What to Watch For
While there are many advantages to hiring remote support staff, there are also potential drawbacks. When hiring a medical scribe that's off-site, it's essential to take note of the following.
Communication and Tech Issues
Remote medical scribing requires a reliable connection to the internet and a secure audio or video link to connect the scribe to the patient encounter. If these connections are not stable, it can cause disruptions to the scribing process, leading to errors or omissions in the documentation.
You eliminate these concerns when you hire a remote scribe from a managed service provider. Providers ensure that they onboard recorders with the right equipment and access to a good internet connection.
Oversight and Accountability
The success of remote medical scribing relies heavily on accurate transcription. As such, there needs to be a robust system for monitoring and overseeing scribe performance. Additionally, remote scribing can make it more challenging to hold the scribe accountable for errors or omissions, especially if they are freelancers.
When you hire a managed scribe, though, this will become a non-issue. Service providers like Wing have systems in place for evaluating and supplementing the performance of their remote medical scribes.
Need for Training and QA
Hiring remote medical scribes requires proper training, including familiarizing them with the specific EMR system and ensuring they understand medical terminology and documentation requirements. Additionally, regular quality assurance checks are necessary to ensure that the scribe provides accurate and complete documentation.
Hire a Medical Scribe through Wing
Maximize efficiency and accuracy in your medical practice by hiring a remote medical scribe from Wing Assistant. Our team of highly trained professionals will streamline your documentation process, allowing you to focus on patient care. Contact us today to learn more!
Aya is Wing Assistant’s blog manager. When she’s not wrangling content briefs, editing article drafts and handling on-page SEO, she is crafting messages for Wing’s other communication materials. Aya writes about SaaS startups, marketing for startups, search engine optimization, and pop culture.
