The American College of Clinical Information Managers (ACCIM) to Set Certification Criteria and Advocacy for Medical Scribes

CALDWELL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American College of Clinical Information Managers (ACCIM; www.theaccim.org) has been organized to pioneer a national accreditation pathway for medical scribes. The medical industry’s growing emphasis on comprehensive medical documentation as a requisite to verifying quality and compensable patient care are obligating medical providers to devote an escalating amount of time to documenting the physician-patient encounter. These heightened documentation requirements coupled with the national expansion of the electronic medical record (EMR) have burdened medical providers with non-clinical clerical duties resulting in significant decreases in productivity.

Medical scribe programs have emerged as cost-effective solutions able to exceed current requirements through real-time documentation while augmenting the operational efficiency of medical departments notwithstanding the utilization of EMR. As a result, medical scribe programs are rapidly being implemented institutionally nationwide. The proliferation of such programs has created an emerging national scribe industry consisting of various home-grown, local, and national companies working towards similar goals. Heretofore, the growth has occurred without a unified industrial voice or strategy for self-monitoring.

The ACCIM is a not-for-profit organization fortifying the medical scribe industry through an online medical scribe program and certification exam, the development of professional standards and political representation. The ACCIM is also acting as a resource for the public and scribe programs by following hospital trends and providing information with respect to statements by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as The Joint Commission as they relate to the industry.

The ACCIM is a volunteer membership association. Certification through ACCIM is necessary in order to distinguish medical scribes and medical scribe programs that have met minimal performance standards from those that have not, yet refer to themselves as scribes or CIMs. Scribe programs that do not consistently apply and maintain the minimum standards set forth in ACCIM’s accreditation can therefore not be certified. Without certification it is difficult for the public to distinguish scribes who have met minimal competency standards, which could lead to an erosion of confidence in the medical scribe industry as a whole.

The ACCIM is made up of representatives from members of national scribe companies. All scribes and companies are welcome to join The ACCIM to become certified as well as advocate for the medical scribe industry.

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