a medical scribe is a person, or paraprofessional, who specializes in charting physician-patient encounters in real time, such as during medical examinations. they also locate information and patients for physicians and complete forms needed for patient care. depending on which area of practice the scribe works in, the position may also be called clinical scribe, er scribe or ed scribe (in the emergency department), or just scribe (when the context is implicit). a scribe is trained in health information management and the use of health information technology to support it. a scribe can work on-site (at a hospital or clinic) or remotely from a hipaa-secure facility. medical scribes who work at an off-site location are known as virtual medical scribes.