It in Healthcare: Voice Recognition Tools Make Rounds at Hospitals

IT in HealthCare: Voice Recognition Tools Make Rounds at Hospitals

Management Information Systems

Technology is growing in the field of medicine. Finding better ways to serve patients has become an important issue. Our future looks bright as we look at the changes being made and one of them is voice recognition technology being presented in hospitals. With the help of Dragon programs, voice software has made its stand and is being treated positively.

In the case of the nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania, this pilot of new technology and process has helped improve workflow and patient safety during the installation of IV lines. The system has been effective with patient safety and nurse efficiency. With accurate order information in the database, nurses can spend more time treating patients.

From an investment perceptive, the cost of transcription is expensive. It was Fairview Hospital who is saving roughly $2000 to $3000 a month which would have been used on transcription services. The cost to get the technology product up and running was $3500. Although at Mt. Carmel the doctors didn't see an immediate change in productivity, it was eventually seen that dictation costs went to almost null which was a complete return in their investment. Plus, transcription services lacks in speed. The fact that spoken notes can appear immediately in a patient's chart was seen as a plus to medical professionals. Obviously, voice recognition with direct speech-to-text capability allows the information to be uploaded immediately.

Two of the most difficult things that would most likely be encountered in implementing is training and possible resistance. A doctor's job is to conduct the exam and have someone else transcribe their taped information. At the cost of transcribing, what doctor will want to take the time to learn how to type? I think resistance is another big issue, but the fact that this technology can assist in providing better care, a chance to connect with the patient in a different way and to allow the fastest service possible is what really should be the goal. But, training is a huge part of implementation along with involving those who will be using the programs in assisting with its development for this environment. Training should extend past the new technology. It should include people who will have their tasks changed and these people should also be involved with the implementation process. This might help with resistance.

A huge concern might be security. Confidentiality is a major issue in the medical field protected by laws even and with healthcare professionals sending information directly to a electronic medical systems, hackers out there who penetrate the system will release this information. This could be worrisome