Monday, December 6, 2010

Doctor offers cheap advice for improving medical speech recognition

Advances in medical digital dictation software has made the technology more accurate than ever, but certain weaknesses remain, radiologist David Weiss said at the recent Radiological Society of North America 2010 conference in Chicago.

Weiss said the sound of a closing door can be a "disaster" for digital dictation, but he's found a quick-fix remedy that's as easy as flicking a switch. While white noise generators can effectively drown out garbled background noise, Weiss said he uses a fan.

Weiss said the fan creates enough white noise to work as effectively as a generator in making it easier for the software to recognize and translate speech, but for much less.

The doctor also identified several other tricks he employs to boost the benefits of his speech recognition platform. For example, Weiss uses a macro tool for commonly dictated phrases that recognizes single words to enter entire clauses.

He also praised the technology for its high accuracy, noting how the software may actually "learn" the voice patterns of the dictating physician.

Healthcare organizations worldwide are utilizing speech recognition software and transcription services to increase their efficiency and productivity. Dictation products for companies in all industries can be found at the comprehensive American Dictation Site.

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