• Heather A Heaton, Emily J Schwartz, Wyatt J Gifford, Karen A Koch, Christine M Lohse, Ryan J Monroe, Kristine M Thompson, Laura E Walker, and Thomas R Hellmich.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, United States of America. Electronic address: heaton.heather@mayo.edu.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2020 Aug 1; 38 (8): 1594-1598.

ObjectiveEvaluate an established scribe program on throughput and revenue capture in an Emergency Department (ED) undergoing an EMR transition.MethodsA prospective cohort design comparing patients managed with and without scribes in an academic ED. Throughput metrics (medians, min) and relative value units (RVUs, means) were collected. Data was evaluated in its entirety (three months), as well as in two subsets: go live (immediate two weeks) and adoption (two weeks post implementation to end).ResultsAll patients: There was no significant difference in throughput or RVUs during the three month period. During go-live, scribes showed improvement in total RVUs per patient (4.63 vs 4.40, p = 0.048). During adoption, scribed patients had decreased length of stay (LOS, 221 vs 231, p = 0.023). Adults: Door to provider (28 vs 37, p = 0.014) and total RVUs (5.20 vs 4.92, p = 0.042) were improved with scribes in the go-live period. Scribes improved go-live morning and overnight shifts, while lengthening provider to disposition during afternoon shifts. No significant differences were seen in the adoption period, except for increased provider to disposition time overnight with scribes (154 vs 146, p = 0.030). Pediatrics: When all pediatric patients were compared, scribe patients had a decreased professional RVU charge (2.78 vs 2.90, p = 0.037). During go live and adoption, no significant differences were found in any other parameter or subgrouping.ConclusionsA scribe's ability to mitigate operational inefficiencies introduced by an EMR transition seems limited in an academic hospital. Previous research highlighting the impact of scribes on revenue was not replicated during this study.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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