Digital Dictation in a Modern Healthcare Ecosystem

The days when clinicians kept dictation recorders and a stack of tapes on their desk are gone. Some consultants have abandoned dictation completely, choosing to type their own clinical documents. While young doctors tend to be much better at typing and managing documents than their older contemporaries, they are also using their mobile devices, integrated flexible dictation solutions and their voices to be more productive. For many, advances in the voice-to-text workflows has become an essential part of driving an efficient and cost-effective document delivery process.

A variety of forces have driven dictation to evolve and improve. More and more hospitals, clinics and private practices are combining clinician voices with new technology to reduce overheads, operate more efficiently and enhance patient services by focusing on care giving and not administration. As medical voice productivity solutions continue to grow and adapt, clinicians can expect even better solutions going forward.

The Current State of Dictation

Legacy Systems

Dictation was once on the cutting edge of technology.  When first introduced it revolutionised the way clinicians produced documentation.  By utilising their voice to dictate letters or commands, they were able to delegate a portion of their administrative tasks and free up time for patient care.  Legacy dictation devices utilise analogue tapes which inevitably piled up on desks and were passed from pillar to post waiting to be typed by support staff. 

Since medical administrators were constantly interrupted with the more pressing tasks of running clinics and delivering patient care, turnaround of documents and notes that had been dictated was often slow and unreliable. Creating and tracking a reliable workflow was virtually impossible and as machines broke down, tapes degraded, and as word processing skills became more common place, many clinicians lost faith with dictation.

Current Solutions

With the advent of digital dictation, vendors are now able to create workflows, reports and monitoring, which streamlines the process.  Many clinicians have embraced smartphones and voice recognition software, bringing further savings and efficiencies to traditional dictation. Digital dictation is more accessible, of better quality and easier to manage, provoking an uptake of digital solutions across many hospitals, clinics and private practices in Ireland.

Once a file or note is dictated it is immediately available to monitor within a workflow.  This allows clinicians and administrators to manage volumes, ensure turnaround times and minimise errors within the document production workflow.

Clinicians are also using voice productivity solutions to maximise the time they spend with patients.  As well as referral letters and discharge summaries some clinicians also dictate procedure notes, emails and instructions to staff.  The time saved here allows them to see more patients and provide better care.

What to Expect in the Future

Looking ahead, software vendors and service providers are producing deeper integrations with other systems.  Clinicians and hospitals can now avail of voice productivity technology that is integrated with all aspects of their IT healthcare ecosystems, including utilising patient demographics in document creation and delivery, clinical notes and direct updating of patient records. Technologies like smartphone apps and telephony are increasing the availability and scope of voice productivity solutions, allowing clinicians to do more without intrusive or radical changes to their current practices.

Voice Recognition technologies and on demand medical transcription services mean that patient records and correspondence can now be updated in real time, ensuring more efficient and cost-effective patient care.

Some hospitals and practitioners continue to drag their feet, dismissing voice technologies as expensive and unnecessary.  But it is clear that with the latest innovations, voice productivity solutions do far more than save clinicians time typing documents.  The value of dictation now goes beyond cost and extends to the streamlining of the entire clinical documentation process.

Jonathan Larbey - CEO T-Pro