| Is voice recognition the new solution for medical | | | | reports is of utmost importance as it affects care |
| transcription needs? Voice recognition or speech | | | | of the patients at every level as well as forming |
| recognition is one of the new developments in the | | | | the basis for all further documentation needs. The |
| medical transcription field. It has been touted as | | | | accuracy level from voice recognition software is |
| the solution for a health provider's documentation | | | | found to be about 60%-65%. That means |
| needs. | | | | correcting and editing the documents have to |
| How does it work? The doctor is offered a digital | | | | make up for the remaining 35%-40% accuracy. |
| platform by the Voice recognition service provider | | | | Cost: The cost factor for voice recognition |
| where the doctor can dial in and dictate his patient | | | | software will vary according to the number of |
| notes at the end of the day. The software | | | | users and the size of the organization. It will also |
| converts it to typed form, which is made available | | | | have to factor in additional costs required for |
| to the doctor to edit and correct as needed. | | | | editing the documents to an acceptable level. One |
| Seems simple enough. But is it as simple as that? | | | | may find that it is costing more per line than was |
| Apparently not! Voice recognition needs to be | | | | quoted in the beginning. |
| evaluated on all the criteria used while finalizing a | | | | Learning curve: When healthcare facilities look for |
| healthcare facility's medical transcription service | | | | solutions for producing their patients' medical |
| provider. | | | | records they would like to have solutions that are |
| Time saved: When medical transcription needs are | | | | expert and accurate from the very beginning. In |
| outsourced one of the main benefits is the time | | | | the case of voice recognition software there is a |
| saving factor. Time is a precious commodity for | | | | definite learning curve that affects the quality of |
| Doctors and they would like to utilize it for | | | | finished reports till the software 'learns' to follow a |
| providing quality care to their patients. But when | | | | particular doctor's speech patterns and even then |
| voice recognition software is used the doctor has | | | | the accuracy levels are only 60%-65%. |
| to spend more time on it in the following areas: | | | | Flexibility: When new doctors are added to the |
| 1. Training time: Voice recognition software | | | | practice the voice recognition software has to be |
| requires the doctor to personally 'train' the | | | | trained further to accept the speech nuances of |
| software on the speech pattern, accent, standard | | | | the new joiners. There is no flexibility offered by |
| terms and various nuances of his/her speech | | | | voice recognition software for this. |
| pattern so that the software can 'learn' it and | | | | In conclusion we can safely say that voice |
| adapt accordingly. This could involve a huge time | | | | recognition software will never be able to |
| commitment from the doctor using it, which he | | | | completely replace manual medical transcription. |
| may ill afford to make. | | | | The important point to be considered here is that |
| 2. Time for dictation: Voice recognition software | | | | medical records are created of human beings, |
| requires the doctor to change his style of | | | | dictated by human beings and therefore needs |
| dictation to include punctuations, grammar, | | | | another human being to transcribe it. Medical |
| spellings, detailed terminology, paragraph and | | | | transcriptionists will have an important role to play |
| report start and ending etc., as opposed to the | | | | at least as editors and proofreaders. |
| free flow form of dictations that the doctors are | | | | Medical transcription requires a certain amount of |
| used to. | | | | training, subjective judgment and understanding |
| 3. Time for editing: Unlike the traditional method of | | | | the context to be accurate and relevant, which |
| medical transcription where the records are | | | | will not be possible to achieve completely through |
| subject to rigorous proof reading and quality | | | | software, no matter how expertly created. |
| checks, here the doctor needs to spend | | | | For the transcription needs of a healthcare facility |
| considerable time editing and correcting before | | | | one should look for a company that offers |
| signing off on the reports | | | | commitment on accuracy, turnaround time, |
| Accuracy: The accuracy levels of the finished | | | | reasonable pricing and data security. |