Question for Fellow Scribes..

[catie_jane]

Hey there fellow scribes,

I currently work as a scribe in the ED at a local community hospital (not through any sort of scribe company however). We are currently paid $12 an hour but our physician supervisor is looking to increase this pay because she agrees it is dirt cheap for people trying to work full-time as a scribe. She wants to talk to the ED chief about a raise but he is interested in what the going rate is for other scribes.

So it would be very helpful if you could post (if you feel comfortable):
1. Where you work as a scribe (ED, private practice, etc.)
2. Is it through the hospital or a scribe company (PhysAssistant, Scribe America, etc)
3. What is your pay rate? Do you get raises?

Thank you very much in advance!

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[Sader87]

You may want to withhold this information from your supervisor, but I started at a whopping $9/hour as an ED scribe. (I received a $0.25 raise after a year) $$$

 

[Optimus-Prime]

I had friends who were scribes in Salisbury, MD, at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Given this was ~6 years ago, they started at $9 then after 6 months got bumped up to $12, then there was a head scribe who made a little more

 

[phuynh94]

I work at a primary care outpatient clinic (9-6) and get paid $11/hr and receive a 1099. Not the best set up, since I pay 15% in taxes, but I learned a lot and can technically leave whenever I want.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

I was told by ScribeAmerica that their pay nationwide is $10/hr, with lower pay during your initial training period.

 

[PhoenixFire24]

$12 for being a scribe is actually very good pay for a full time scribe. I have worked for ScribeAmerica in the past. You make $10 a hour, but they rarely ever hand out raises. I currently work as a self contractor for one ER physician and full time with benefits for an internist; however, I don't make $12.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

$12 is peanuts but yes, it's true that many programs/companies pay less. I was an ED scribe from 2011-2012 and I started at $10/hr. By the time I left, I was getting $11 and change. Last I heard, the program had increased it to $13. But even that is so little money, especially for a nontrad like me who had bills to pay (rent, car payment, student loans). I worked at a hospital-based program at an academic hospital (not through a scribe company). Personally, I think any less than $15/hr is ridiculous. Yes, it's a job that offers premeds valuable experience. But it also involves a fairly significant amount of responsibility and great attention to detail. Sloppy charting is dangerous for physicians and patients!

 

[Cara Delevingne]

$15 at an urgent care clinic. No raises, promotions available.

 

[Padfoot]

I know people are saying that $12 is high, but they are working through a scribe agency that is charging doctors $20-30/hour. Since your doctors are not paying an agency, they are getting a good deal.

 

[hypericum]

I get paid $10 in a busy academic ER, via a company. I don't believe there are raises for the regular scribes. The work is pretty grueling - basically no downtime and no breaks during the full shift - and everyone is pre-med.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Work in a community ED through PhysAsssist. 7.50 for the first 300 hours solo. Bumped to 10 thereafter. Been with the company for a little under two years and only up to 11.50/hr. 12.50 if I'm training new scribes. To my knowledge, Chiefs make maybe a dollar or two more and do 10x the work.

 

[asw98]

My pay is $13.50/hr and 20.25 for overtime at a private practice. My job is part scribe, but more medical assistant.

 

[deleted446889]

ScribeAmerica, $8.50 for the first 3 months then $10. 12 hour shifts, no other benefits. Looking past the clinical experience, not a great job.

You're very fortunate OP!

 

[tinydancergr]

I work for a new scribe company in Michigan as a senior scribe and make $14/hour in the ED. Base pay for non-senior scribes is $8.50/hour.

 

[kmc21]

I work as a scribe in a private practice and I make $18.50/hour. I started at $16/hour about 2 years ago.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

$13/hr in ER

 

[takeurmeds02]

I work as a scribe in a private practice and I make $18.50/hour. I started at $16/hour about 2 years ago.

Damn, 18.50 to type some stuff into a medical record? Def Jelly...

 

[xxabi]

I am a scribe with ScribeAmerica in California. Our scribes get paid $11 (but this is likely because minimum wage was $10, and as of Jan is now $11 in the city where I work.)

I have friends who work for outpatient speciality clinics, not through an organization, who make $15/hr

 

[almostnever]

Starting pay at my site (ED) is $10/hour with $1 increase per year. Leads get $13.50 plus benefits.

 

[kmc21]

Damn, 18.50 to type some stuff into a medical record? Def Jelly...

The pay is pretty fantastic but I've taken on other responsibilities as well

 

[MiniMD]

Here in Texas (min wage is $7.25 but we have a fairly low cost of living), ProScribe pays $8/hr for day shift, $9 for afternoon, $10 for overnight. No pay increases! 🤔

 

[catie_jane]

Thank you for the responses everyone! It was very helpful.

What I gleaned from all the responses was:
1. Big scribe companies (Scribe America, PhysAssist, ProScribe) only make $9-10 but are charging the docs $20-30 for their services (so in general the docs at my hospital are saving $10-20)
2. Private practice people make anywhere between 15-20$
3. Some ER people make >12$ without a scribe company

Maybe showing my boss this info will help persuade them to increase our pay by pointing out the fact that if they used a scribe company they would be pay $20+ and that other placed give between 13-15$ on average!

 

[Hospitalized]

1.) Hospital ED -- 5 different ED locations in a metropolitan area
2.) Scribe company, contracted through physician group
3.) $12.50, $0.50 raises every 6 months. Starts at $11.00.

 

[futuredoc71]

I work family medicine. 12/hr. Finally we got health insurance privileges. Its barely enough to live off. I know that scribes in pain mgmt that get paid like 16/hr

 

[jlh19]

Dang 12/hr sounds good to me. I am an emt and only make 10/hr. Only reason I make decent money is because I work 24 hrs on 48 off, and I generally pick up extra shifts when available! Even as a medic you don't make much more than that where I work... Maybe I should look elsewhere for employment haha


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[studentdocftw]

Sigh, I wish I made 12+ an hour.
Scribe at an ED and also outpatient Cardiology clinic....currently at 10.50/hr and have been for the past 8 months. Work for a scribe company, and opportunities for raises are minimal.

 

[MedSchoolAdvice20]

1. Both family practice and emergency room.
2. One of the top scribe companies in the country.
3. $8.83/hr. You want to talk dirt cheap, there you have it.

 

[pstrick]

$12/hour seems high.

In essence, you're a Siri with a heartbeat. I'm not sure that even warrants a premium above minimum.
(I say this as a fellow wage laborer.) A scribe has no stress and no autonomy. You don't have to make decisions and you don't have to put in a mental effort.
I've never made more than 9/hr and I deal with large amounts of cash and have to make my own decisions.

The FM docs near me all actually use a Siri like software to take notes of patients.
They used to record notes and have them send to be transcribed, but that became too expensive.

 

[studentdocftw]

$12/hour seems high.

In essence, you're a Siri with a heartbeat. I'm not sure that even warrants a premium above minimum.
(I say this as a fellow wage laborer.) A scribe has no stress and no autonomy. You don't have to make decisions and you don't have to put in a mental effort.
I've never made more than 9/hr and I deal with large amounts of cash and have to make my own decisions.

The FM docs near me all actually use a Siri like software to take notes of patients.
They used to record notes and have them send to be transcribed, but that became too expensive.

Not sure what experience/knowledge you have about scribing, but it is not equivalent to a transcriber. You have to make judgements on the fly, chart how your physician would like while finding all of the relevant data pertinent to the visit, which requires mental effort. A patient with a hx of HTN, hyperlipidemia and CKD who presents for unstable angina, would require YOU to search the EMR for a baseline creatinine along with a recent LDL if available, the medication list for channel blockers/statin therapy and results from a recent cath or stress echo report. In my experience, the physician does not dictate this search and it is upon the scribe to make the effort to get that information for the physician. Obviously the scribing experience will differ from place to place, and company to company, but my site definitely requires more than you suggest, warranting a salary of at least $10/hr IMO.

 

[catie_jane]

$12/hour seems high.

In essence, you're a Siri with a heartbeat. I'm not sure that even warrants a premium above minimum.
(I say this as a fellow wage laborer.) A scribe has no stress and no autonomy. You don't have to make decisions and you don't have to put in a mental effort.
I've never made more than 9/hr and I deal with large amounts of cash and have to make my own decisions.

The FM docs near me all actually use a Siri like software to take notes of patients.
They used to record notes and have them send to be transcribed, but that became too expensive.

Yeah I definitely get what you are saying but I guess where I work the scribes do a lot more. This isn't necessarily required but myself and a few others go above and beyond (doing discharge paperwork, getting EKGs, finding old EKGs if the first one is abnormal, looking up old records, calling pharmacies for medication lists, making calls to the lab, etc)

 

[pstrick]

That is more responsibility than I thought. I'll admit I have limited exposure to scribes.

I actually can't type correctly, (My fat fingers have never been able to fit on home row very well), so I have never done more than a cursory examination of the field.