Is medical digital dictation easy to use?

Medical digital dictation allows doctors and other medical professionals to automatically transcribe documentation, rather than having to transcribe it all manually.

We’ve written quite a bit about the benefits of platforms like Nuance Dragon Medical One (DMO)- namely that it can save hours every week on repetitive admin. But is medical dictation easy to use?

In today’s blog we’ll be answering that very question, as well as discussing the equipment required for medical dictation, how the software actually works, and just how much faster medical dictation is than manual transcriptions.

Is medical dictation easy to set up?

In the case of Dragon Medical One (DMO), the platform is very easy to set up, which should come as a relief to medical professionals who simply don’t have time to learn the ins and outs of a complex new system. You just install the platform on your computer as you would any other piece of software, and if you want to use your smartphone as a microphone, download the PowerMic Mobile app. The app is probably the easiest, and quickest, way to get started with DMO. Plus, if you purchase DMO through Voice Technologies, we’ll help make the installation process as smooth as possible.

DMO will also be compatible with most, if not all, of the applications you already use. The ability to use automated transcriptions in just about every facet of your work, rather than just on the DMO platform itself, is what makes medical dictation such a game changer for doctors.

Do you need to buy equipment to use medical dictation?

You don’t need to buy any equipment in order to use medical dictation. There are a number of Philips microphones designed for dictation, but as we mentioned previously, your smartphone should work just fine if it’s compatible with the PowerMic app. Using the phone app will make it all the easier to transcribe on the go. DMO’s portability can be a huge advantage for medical professionals who work across various locations.

How does medical dictation actually work?

Medical dictation, like all speech recognition software, starts with the user (in this case the medical professional) speaking into their microphone. With the help of AI (and complex algorithms we won’t bother getting into), the platform will analyse the user’s speech, break it down into individual sounds, and match those sounds with the words the user is most likely saying.

If this process sounds a tad ambiguous, you might be surprised to learn that speech recognition software (including Dragon Medical One) is actually 99% accurate.

Does medical dictation know healthcare terms?

Does the 99% accuracy extend to medical terms? In the case of Dragon Medical One, yes, it does. DMO is trained not just on standard, day-to-day vocabulary, but also on a wide array of medical vocab. So, regardless of how niche the term may be, DMO is unlikely to be stumped.

Is medical dictation faster than manual transcriptions?

Medical dictation is far faster than manual transcriptions. Naturally. It wouldn’t be much use if it was slower! On average, digital transcription platforms can record up to 150 words per minute. With traditional transcription methods like typing, most people can only transcribe 40 words per minute. All in all, digital transcription is almost four times faster.

Conclusion: is medical dictation easy to use?

Medical dictation is very easy to use, and with all the advancements in speech recognition in recent years, it also just works! Transcriptions are 99% accurate, even when it comes to complex medical terms. Ultimately, Dragon Medical One can make the working lives of medical professionals significantly less hectic, which is why its popularity continues to increase across the UK healthcare sector.

We help organisations reduce the time and cost of producing correspondence via speech recognition software, information workflow apps, and digital dictation hardware & software. Think we could help your business? Book a consultation today.