Any physician would tell you about the advantages of medical dictation software. Speech-to-text medical dictation software eliminate typing, saves time on clinical notes, improves productivity, and can be accessed from anywhere and reused. Voice recognition software allows providers to record and document interactions with patients on their mobile, laptop or workstation. There is a wide range of medical dictation software that work on all EHR platforms. Nevertheless, physicians continue to rely on medical transcription services to review and improve the accuracy of speech recognition generated documents.
Speech to text apps are voice recognition tools that recognize spoken words, phrases and keywords and convert them into legible text. A voice to text app is faster at producing transcripts than manual typing on a keyboard. Speech to text software comes with a wide range of functionalities. Modern medical dictation software such as Mobius Scribe feature deep learning/neural net technology that adjusts to your voice patterns. Your words are transcribed as you dictate and appear on the screen. The transcript is immediately sent to the patient’s medical record.
Top medical dictation software include Mobius Scribe, Mobius Conveyor, Dragon Medical One, Amazon Transcribe Medical, WebChart MD, Winscribe Text and Express Scribe. To make the most medical dictation software, you need to know how to use it efficiently.
- Start Dictation: Advanced apps make your mobile device a microphone that can dictate directly into any software on any computer and uses deep learning and neural net technology to adapt to your voice patterns. Click on the microphone and begin speaking in your normal speaking style and speed. The software will do the typing.
Starting dictation and transcription is simple. On Dragon Medical One, you can speak through the headset attached to the clinical workstation, or use your smartphone by installing the PowerMic Mobile app on your mobile device. On Amazon Transcribe Medical, start by opening the Amazon Transcribe console. Then choose Real-time transcription that appears Under Amazon Transcribe Medical. Click Start streaming and then speak into your microphone. The speech will be transcribed and displayed on the console. To use the Mobius app, click Documentation from a patient chart to access Scribe, press Dictate, and start speaking. Your words will appear with the blinking cursor as you dictate and the microphone button will be red when the transcription is in progress.
- Position your Microphone Correctly: In sound-sensitive apps, even minor changes in position can make a big difference in volume and amount of sounds that get transmitted. You need to find the position that works best for you. With Dragon Medical One, it is recommended that the microphone on your phone is about 1 to 3 inches from your mouth and off to the side (hopkinsmedicine.org). Press and hold the microphone button for a half-second before talking. Speak directly into the microphone, not across it. For the Mobius, the best position is just slightly below and within 1 inch of your mouth.
- Speak at a Normal Pace: Speak naturally and clearly using complete sentences. There are many techniques to ensure quality dictation. Good dictation practices are crucial to avoid transcription errors which can have adverse consequences on patient care, result in legal issues, impact coding and billing, and affect the practice’s reputation and revenue.
- Optimize Dictation with Proper Use of Voice Commands: Apps allow you to dictate commands and punctuation to tell your PC what to do and save time On some apps like Mobius Scribe, numbers are given as words (not digits), unless dictated together with dates, date ranges, times, measurements, dosages, and symbols. Learn to use dictation commands:
- Ask for a list of commands
- Pause briefly after a command to ensure that it is interpreted as a command and not processed as text
- Say the words “colon,” “new paragraph” or “end sentence”, delete that, “select all”, etc.
- Say “cap” to capitalize a word, or “all caps” to capitalize all letters in the following word
- To provide a number in digits, say “numeral” followed by the number
- Dictate symbols – say “plus sign” for +, “percent” for %, etc.
- Use commands to type, hold, and hit keys on your keyboard
- Edit Text: To stop the transcription and edit text, press the microphone. Select the words, phrases or sections you want to edit by passing your finger over the text. Double click on the highlighted text to bring up the cursor and when it appears, tap and hold on the screen to precisely adjust the cursor’s location.
- Create Auto Text: The auto text feature allows you to automatically create specific text for frequently used language, which can reduce mistakes and save time. Auto texts are used for normal patient status notes, signatures, and frequently typed addresses. On Dragon Medical, open the Auto-text window through the context menu or the “manage auto-texts” command. Then click+ and add a new entry and fill in the material that you want to appear when you say a specific word. Hit apply all and close.
- Add Medical Vocabulary, Words and Phrases: All leading medical dictation software understand medical vocabulary. However, you may come across words that the software doesn’t spell correctly the first time. In such situations, you can teach your app new medical vocabulary, words and phrases. For instance, to update your dictation vocabulary in the Mobius Conveyor medical dictation solution, follow these steps: Go to Vocabulary by swiping left from the live screen, tap the “Add vocab” button, and type the new term you want to add under “Written Form”. You can check if the app will get it right by tapping the “try it out box” below and speaking a sentence with the new word.
Once you have finished your dictation, log out of the app. It may take some time to learn and get used to all the features of medical dictation software, but once that’s done, you will be rewarded with real-time, quality transcription without having to do any typing. Today, busy primary care physicians rely on automated dictation supported by family practice transcription services for proofreading assistance.
