How to reduce document turnaround time in healthcare

In the UK healthcare sector, particularly in the NHS, efficient admin is an absolute necessity. Despite this, slow document turnaround times remain a significant, widely reported issue. Outdated paper-based processes and manual, fragmented systems cost the NHS time, and money.

But in recent years, platforms have been developed specifically to address these problems, namely WinVoiceWeb and FormStream, which were developed by Voice Technologies in collaboration with the NHS. Together, these tools digitise and optimise admin workflows in the healthcare sector.

In today’s blog, we’ll be looking at how exactly these platforms can help healthcare professionals reduce document turnaround time.

The cost of slow document turnaround time in the healthcare sector

There are multiple ways in which slow documentation processes can negatively impact healthcare professionals, as well as their patients.

Financial costs caused by operational inefficiencies
Manual tasks like transcribing notes, printing, filing and retrieving records takes up hours and hours every week. This means that healthcare professionals, who would much rather be spending their time on patient care, are forced to wade through endless admin. This can massively increase admin overhead, especially in the long term.

Patient care can suffer
It might not feel like the quality of patient care is directly related to admin, but if healthcare workflows are slower than they should be, eventually that’s going to negatively impact patients. A large part of why the NHS is so burdened at the moment comes down to outdated workflows, which can delay appointments, diagnoses and treatment.

How WinVoiceWeb lets you streamline your document workflows

WinVoiceWeb is a web-based platform that was built specifically to address admin bottlenecks in the healthcare sector. The tool achieves this by digitising, and also automating, the entire document lifecycle.

At its core WinVoiceWeb is a digital dictation tool. Advanced speech recognition tech allows you to automatically populate documents using just your voice, which can greatly reduce the time that clinicians need to spend on admin.

Once a document has been created and populated, the clinician can then review and edit the file (which can also be done using their voice), and distribute it to all relevant parties - all via the one system. As a result, turnaround times can be far, far faster.

How FormStream can replace your paper forms

FormStream also reduces turnaround times, but by focusing on data capture. It replaces paper forms with e-forms. By eliminating the need for printing, scanning, and manual filing, FormStream can reduce costs, and also reduce the risk of errors (caused by data duplication, for example, or even handwriting that’s hard to read on paper forms).

WinVoiceWeb + FormStream: working together for more efficient workflows

So, WinVoiceWeb and FormStream can both cut down turnaround times in the healthcare sector - but they’re particularly efficient when combined. For example: imagine a clinician has an appointment with a patient:

• FormStream can capture the initial data from the patient without them having to put pen to paper. The data required would depend on the context but, whatever the clinician needs to know, it can be swiftly inputted by the patient.
• Following the appointment, the clinician can use WinVoiceWeb to automatically transcribe their notes and treatment plan (if required).
• Both FormStream and WinVoiceWeb feed directly into the same patient record.

Conclusion: how to reduce document turnaround time in healthcare

With the NHS so overwhelmed, there’s no one easy fix- but, for many clinicians across the UK, reducing document turnaround time has proved an encouraging start. The structured data management of FormStream and the digital dictation of WinVoiceWeb can benefit not just medical professionals, but also their patients, and the entire healthcare sector.