Importance Of Speech Recognition In Healthcare

Software-based speech recognition has an extensive capability of recording spoken words and translating them into text. It is no surprise that comScore predicts that by 2020, over 50% of all searches will be voice searches. Voice recognition is not only used on personal devices but has also found a solid foothold in enterprises. This technology is especially useful to enhance customer service and to combat cybercrime.

Automatic speech recognition has been under development for more than half a century and it has now crossed the border of usage in one particular field exclusively. This is the case because professionals across industries have become aware of the myriad of benefits this technology brings to both businesses and consumers.

The accuracy of modern speech recognition technology has reached 99%. Due to the immense technological advancements that have taken place over the last few years, this software has become increasingly popular among healthcare providers.

For example, in a survey conducted with healthcare professionals, the majority of the respondents noticed a substantial improvement in documentation quality, as well as a decrease in time spent on recording a patient meeting after implementing medical speech recognition software.

Voice recognition technology is not new to healthcare. For many years, doctors have been using this technology to transcribe their clinical notes. However, with the advancement of data science options such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing are entering the healthcare space. By harnessing the powers of these sciences, speech recognition technology can phenomenally transform the way doctors, nurses, and patients interact with each other.

Studies have shown that doctors spend a little less than half of their workday on manual data entry. In fact, doctors record over 7 million words annually through extensive reporting. Given their professional skill levels and qualifications, this is not the best use of a doctors’ time. They should be focused on their patients rather than on documentation. That’s where speech recognition technology can play a role.

Let us take a look at the many benefits of this technology in Healthcare:.

Higher Productivity

Studies have shown that physicians believe that they can see at least 33% more patients if they use speech recognition technology instead of entering data into an EMR template. Even for other hospital departments, this technology has a vital role to play. A study of 20,000 radiology examinations showed with the use of SR, there was a reduction of 81 percent in report turnaround time leading to thousands of dollars of annual savings.

Less Medical Errors

Hospitals that use speech recognition technology see a notable rise in the reliability and precision of electronic health records. Most medical errors tend to happen during the clinical hand-off when a patient is referred to another physician. Between this hand-off, if the entire information, thought process, and actions are not transferred properly then it can increase the chances of medical errors. With speech recognition technology, all this information is accurately transferred between the physicians, thereby reducing the chances of medical errors.

More Mobility

Numerous cloud-based voice recognition apps are being used by doctors that can dictate on the go, from anywhere, anytime – leading to more efficient use of their time. Doctors can record their notes immediately after a meeting with the patient when the conversation is still fresh in their minds. Apart from that, voice notes can also be handy for recording thoughts and ideas while on the move.

Adherence to Documentation

Doctors spend a lot of time on the proper documentation to ensure insurance companies have sufficient and all the relevant information required to process the claim correctly. In the absence of sufficient documentation, the patients can suffer by not receiving the required insurance coverage. With speech recognition technology doctors can keep accurate and complete records.

Improved Decision-Making

Speech recognition technology makes crucial information always accessible and available for use by clinicians. Equipped with the right information, doctors can make more informed decisions. Without a doubt, there is tremendous potential for this in healthcare:

It can be used in examination rooms to record clinical notes and provide decision support. In the sterile environment of operating rooms, doctors can effectively communicate using a touchless interface. People in recovery rooms usually have restricted mobility. Using speech recognition technology they can adjust the room temperature, lights, call for nursing help, order food, and overall maintain better control over the environment they’re in.

While the technology initially had minor glitches when it comes to picking up ambient noises or understanding different accents, it has come a long way over the past few years. Voice recognition software is now able to drown out ambient sounds and only pick up the voice of the speaker. This allows the levels of accuracy to increase significantly. They can also be programmed to understand accents from various parts of the world.

Facilitates the completeness of medical documentation

When documenting a medical record with the help of a speech recognition solution, the possibility of omitting some important information is minimized. This is especially crucial when multiple medical services need to be recorded within one appointment. This, among many other benefits, improves cooperation with insurance providers.

Inspires patient engagement

Speech recognition could be a significant part of voice-powered assistant solutions for patients. For such solutions, speech recognition technology can increase the magnitude of patient engagement in their treatment process outside the care facility. For example, patients can call for a speech-assisted nurse to provide information about their disease, document their symptoms, or consult on general issues. Thus, speech recognition technology makes such tasks more comfortable and efficient. As a result, patients are likely to be engaged in their treatment process.

With the advancements and the potential of medical speech recognition software, it is easy to comprehend by it has quickly become a go-to technology for doctors. If you’re interested in knowing more about speech recognition and how this innovation can help make healthcare more efficient visit https://augnito.ai/