IHP340 7-2 Final Project |Statistics for Healthcare Professionals_ Time
Motion Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management
2025 Southern New Hampshire University
Time Motion Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management
Deborah Washington
IHP340: Statistics for Healthcare Professionals
Southern New Hampshire University
19 June 2025
, 2
In modern healthcare systems, increasing demands on providers’ time have highlighted
the importance of efficiency in clinical documentation. Medical scribes have emerged as a
promising solution to reduce the administrative burden on physicians, particularly in high-acuity
settings like emergency departments. This paper analyzes the peer-reviewed article Time Motion
Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management (Heaton et al., 2018), which
investigates the effect of scribes on physicians’ workflow and documentation time. Through a
critical review of the study’s purpose, methodology, statistical analyses, key findings, and
limitations, I will evaluate the credibility of the research and its implications for healthcare
practices.
Purpose
Medical scribes greatly influence clinical shift timing in emergency departments of
hospitals. The analysis highlights the evaluation on how the presence of medical scribes
influences emergency department (ED) providers’ allocation of time during clinical shifts
(Heaton et al., 2018). The research question asked whether having a scribe on the team changes
how much time physicians spend on various tasks (such as documentation, direct patient care,
etc.) compared to working without a scribe. The authors’ central hypothesis was that physicians
working with scribes would spend significantly less time documenting and more time with
patients than those working without scribes (p. 135). A crucial aspect of an analysis is to
recognize the research question and hypothesis as it acts as a guide and assist in ensuring the
relevancy of the study. In addition, it assists researchers in creating the most probable predictions
to make inferences and informed decisions.
Research Methods
Motion Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management
2025 Southern New Hampshire University
Time Motion Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management
Deborah Washington
IHP340: Statistics for Healthcare Professionals
Southern New Hampshire University
19 June 2025
, 2
In modern healthcare systems, increasing demands on providers’ time have highlighted
the importance of efficiency in clinical documentation. Medical scribes have emerged as a
promising solution to reduce the administrative burden on physicians, particularly in high-acuity
settings like emergency departments. This paper analyzes the peer-reviewed article Time Motion
Analysis: Impact of Scribes on Provider Time Management (Heaton et al., 2018), which
investigates the effect of scribes on physicians’ workflow and documentation time. Through a
critical review of the study’s purpose, methodology, statistical analyses, key findings, and
limitations, I will evaluate the credibility of the research and its implications for healthcare
practices.
Purpose
Medical scribes greatly influence clinical shift timing in emergency departments of
hospitals. The analysis highlights the evaluation on how the presence of medical scribes
influences emergency department (ED) providers’ allocation of time during clinical shifts
(Heaton et al., 2018). The research question asked whether having a scribe on the team changes
how much time physicians spend on various tasks (such as documentation, direct patient care,
etc.) compared to working without a scribe. The authors’ central hypothesis was that physicians
working with scribes would spend significantly less time documenting and more time with
patients than those working without scribes (p. 135). A crucial aspect of an analysis is to
recognize the research question and hypothesis as it acts as a guide and assist in ensuring the
relevancy of the study. In addition, it assists researchers in creating the most probable predictions
to make inferences and informed decisions.
Research Methods
