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Medical Scribes


Overview

Medical Scribes

Introduction

Medical scribes work in the health care field, side by side with and under the supervision of a physician. The scribe’s primary role is to assist a physician in creating and maintaining a patient’s medical record, though a scribe may assist the physician in other ways. In recent years, this has become a significant entry-level position for those wishing an introduction into the medical field. Though the position is non-clinical, it still entails medical skills as well as technical and clerical skills. Medical scribes ensure that information ...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$40,350

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Employment Prospects

Excellent

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

Internship


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Skills

Information Management
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Personality Traits

Conventional
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Earnings

The average salary for medical scribes employed in the United States in January 2020 was $34,235, according to Salary.com. The lowest paid 10 percent earned about $23,327 and the highest paid 10 percent earned $40,811 or more.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have a separate category for medical scribes, but reports that salaries for medical records and health information technici...

Work Environment

The work environment for a medical scribe is exclusively in health care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and private physician’s offices. Scribes may work in inpatient or outpatient clinics, urgent medical care facilities, family practices, or specialized practices, such as pediatrics or orthopedics practices. The job requires the medical scribe to shadow the physician, so scribes are on ...

Outlook

The prospects for employment as a medical scribe are excellent. There will be many available positions as physicians, medical providers, and facilities become fully compliant with regulations requiring the implementation of electronic medical records systems. As noted in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), prospects for medical assistants are better where they have familiarity with electronic...