Practice Management Alert

Noted optometrist Neil Gailmard has pioneered the use of a special kind of scribe he calls the “super-tech.” A hybrid scribe and assistant, the super-tech stays with the patient rather than with the physician or exam room. They conduct a case history and pretesting alone with the patient, and then assist and scribe when the physician arrives. After the physician leaves, the super-tech takes the patient through next steps, such as additional testing or referrals.

Above all, using a super-tech can make for a better patient experience. Instead of being handed off like a hot potato between staffers, the patient gets to know one person who conducts them across the whole appointment. There’s no down time or waiting alone for the next in a long line of medical staff to arrive. The patient forms a real relationship with their super-tech, allowing for a much less stressful appointment.

Gailmard uses a full three super-techs per working doctor, which allows for faster patient turnaround as well as more hands to cover unexpected administrative needs.

Make it an inside job: If you’d like to experiment with using a super-tech before you commit to hiring new staff, he suggests creating a pilot program by training an existing technician or assistant as a scribe.

Staff buy-in: One of the biggest obstacles to implementing the super-tech model is resistance from current staff members. They may not be comfortable with the loss or addition of responsibilities the model represents, or they may simply not be comfortable with change.

In that case, Gailmard wrote in Optometric Management, “I promise to provide the resources the staff needs, such as training and additional staff if the pilot program is successful and if it makes economic sense.” He also tries to present the super-tech system as an opportunity for career advancement – a way for staff to learn new skills that make them more valuable and flexible.