Are voice recognition systems growing out of their infancy? That's the suggestion made by Dr. Eric Fishman, writing a post for Medscape Business of Medicine. Fishman suggests that while not perfect, voice recognition software solves many of the problems physicians have with electronic health records.
"Clicking through a database to provide exactly the type of data requested is very time consuming and arduous," he writes. "It takes physicians' attention away from patients in most instances, and may not add as much to the readability of a medical record as might be requested."
In contrast, using speech recognition software allows doctors to maintain eye contact and minimize attention paid to a computer screen. The technology, however, is not without its glitches, as it can be difficult to use with mobile EHR systems, a major reason why mobile technology is used more for data viewing as opposed to data input.
Fishman recommends that physicians review their voice recognition-generated notes and make corrections as required. They also should consider using voice recognition, not for an entire patient record, but in combination with a drop-down list and then dictating a few sentences of a patient's history in their own words.
To learn more:
- read the Medscape Business of Medicine article
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