Despite their widespread use, electronic medical records have created frustrations for physicians, especially those working in busy hospital emergency departments. After a brief discussion of the causes of the problems, a potential solution-the use of medical scribes-is presented. The extant literature regarding results obtained following the implementation of medical scribes in emergency departments is reviewed and some conclusions regarding the future of this phenomenon are presented. The future looks quite bright for use of medical scribes in hospitals' emergency departments.
Keywords: Medical scribes; electronic medical records; emergency departments; hospitals.