the introduction of electronic health records has revolutionized the practice of medicine. however, the complexity of some systems has resulted in providers spending more time documenting the encounter instead of speaking with and examining the patient. a tool which was intended to alleviate some problems of clinical documentation has caused many problems for the very people who were supposed to benefit from the technology - the providers. as a result, providers are experiencing burnout and dissatisfaction. an increasing body of research has shown the use of medical scribes is usually, but not always, associated with improved overall physician productivity, cost- and time-savings. patients tolerate scribes well and no differences in patient satisfaction can be found when scribes are present. an in-depth study conducted by the vancouver clinic in vancouver, wa from 2011-2012 found that medical scribes improved the quality of clinical documentation and allowed doctors to see extra patients, while noting the risks associated with scribe turnover and doctors' unfamiliarity with the scribe concept. most physicians like working with scribes and many authors recommend that healthcare providers employ medical scribes to reduce time spent performing data entry and other administrative tasks, which can increase physician fatigue and dissatisfaction.