Speech Recognition Proving Its Worth

Still, docs are resistant. Also, could one of the biggest speech recognition vendors be up for sale?

While wary clinicians remain a big hurdle, nine out of 10 hospitals plan to expand their use of front-end speech deployment, according to a new KLAS report.  The study, "Front-End Speech 2014: Functionality Doesn't Trump Physician Resistance," found that 50 percent of providers polled cited skeptical end-users as one of the biggest barriers to more successful uptake of speech recognition.

Nonetheless, the ROI from the technology was clear for these hospitals, according to KLAS. Facilities interviewed saw a higher impact in nearly every category measured in the report: reduced transcription costs, reduced documentation time and more complete patient-narratives.  "Physicians are resistant to changes in their workflow," says report author Boyd Stewart, in a statement. "While hospital leadership sees the value of FES, many end users are frustrated that they are now being asked to do the work of transcriptionists."

Speech recognition can improve and enhance clinical documentation in many ways -- especially nowadays, as the demand for more documentation of every encounter is on the rise, and there aren't enough experienced medical transcriptionists to meet current and future demands, according to a practice brief published by AHIMA...