Patient Perspectives on Clinical Scribes in Primary Care

Clinical scribes who are medical assistants or nurses may not only relieve the increased administrative burdens electronic health records place on primary care physicians but also bring benefits1, 2 in documentation quality, patient care, and team dynamics3. In our previous qualitative study, patients associated clinical scribes with improved documentation quality and increased attention from their physicians 3. While most were comfortable with the clinical scribe’s presence, a few alluded to situations in which they would be uncomfortable 3. Thus, to describe quantitatively patient opinions, we surveyed patients about their perspectives regarding clinical scribes in primary care.