Health Imaging & IT - January 2008 - (Page 41)

reports remotely. Plus, he says physicians now are including more details in their reports. It’s routine these days to have five to seven doctors on a case and “they’re lucky if any of them can read each other’s handwriting,” says Westcott. So, speech technology can certainly help. Pick up the mike Despite the benefits, Alegent has weathered some minor storms. Westcott says that a lot of physician documentation doesn’t lend itself well to using templates and macros. In some cases, “you want to use the patient’s own words about the situation that brought them into the hospital or clinic. So, I don’t think transcription will ever go away.” He adds that the physicians at Alegent also found that the technology wasn’t successful unless they used a speech microphone. The use of phone lines led to uncontrollable background noise and static on the line. The organization also underestimated how much work the front-end interface would require. “I think we might have applied more resources upfront,” Westcott says. But, the physicians are pleased with the system’s ability to recognize complex medical terminology and adapt to different styles and accents. For most users, it took just a few hours of actual transcription before the engine got very good, Westcott says. Christensen advises that you recognize that “speech recognition isn’t a panacea.” For the best results, “you have to do a critical analysis of what is needed in your organization and who needs it.” Few bugs left “We’re very, very pleased,” Washington Hospital Center’s Smillie says. The hospital experienced “an extremely fast return on investment—less than one year,” she adds. However, “the financial savings were secondary to the fact that we could provide almost instantaneous results to clinicians. That was really the driver.” “Sometimes I am awed that it wasn’t more difficult,” Smillie says. She had heard that radiology is the most painful implementation for speech, experiencing about HealthImaging.com 50 percent pushback from radiologists. She had some pushback, but says the radiologists were ready for the technology. These kinds of implementation successes will probably only continue, Smillie says. “I really think that [speech recognition] has very few bugs left. We’ve been looking at voice recognition for 10-plus years. Earlier products failed for a reason—the technology just wasn’t there.” January 2008 | Health Imaging & IT 41 http://www.dejarnette.com http://www.dejarnette.com http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

Health Imaging & IT Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise: Is More Better? News Update A Look Inside Next-Generation Multidetector CT Convention Spotlight: RSNA in Review RIS/PACS in the Imaging Center Sweden: A Study in Mammography Excellence The Votes are in: Yea for Speech in U.S. Capital & Beyond Subspecialty Reading Services: Quality Reads, Peace of Mind, 24/7 Enterprise Lung CAD Eases Workflow Advertisers Index Company Index Coming Soon Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

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