Though speech recognition software reduces documentation time, the service of medical transcriptionists is essential to retain the accuracy of the documentation.

1. Better Clinical
Documentation -
How Medical
Transcriptionists Can
Help Utilize Speech
Recognition Software

2. Speech recognition tools allow physicians to deal with point-to-click boxes and drop
down menus in EHRs better. They allow dictated notes to be automatically formatted
into EHRs. One may think that this would eliminate the need for medical
transcription specialists. But actually this would change their role from creating
medical documents to reviewing and editing documents created using speech
recognition technology, thereby improving the accuracy of clinical documentation.
Before exploring this interesting fact, let’s take a detailed look at the benefits of
speech recognition software.
Advantages of Speech Recognition Software
 Speech recognition software helps physicians enter patient data into the EHR
using commands instead of using keyboards. This will save their time required
for documentation, enable fast access to documents and eventually ensure
better patient care and productivity.
 Since physicians can simply perform their documentation through dictation,
they can engage more with the patient and provide them with the required
instructions and advice.
 Physicians often cut and paste their notes from previous ones within the
electronic record system to save their time. This could be very dangerous as
these notes become much harder to defend if they are not updated as
necessary and checked thoroughly for consistency. With speech recognition
system, physicians can dictate patient details each time and reduce the need
for copy-pasting.

3. Role of Medical Transcriptionists
As mentioned earlier, medical transcriptionists now play a different role as editors.
As no physician can ensure absolutely perfect dictation and it is important to keep
the narrative quality of reports in certain cases, editing for clarity and consistency is
still required while using speech recognition software and this job can be done
effectively by medical transcriptionists. They can interpret medical terminologies and
abbreviations in patients’ medical histories, discharge summaries, surgery reports
and other documents and edit the following appropriately.
 Sometimes, the physician’s dictation won’t be clear enough for the software
to capture spoken words (if the physician is tired or speak hurriedly). On the
other hand, experienced transcriptionists can understand what terms they
would have used as they have sufficient expertise in the industry and use the
correct words to complete the records.
 Foreign accents and speech patterns may be difficult for the software to
interpret, which can be identified accurately with the help of professional
transcriptionists.
 Unlike speech recognition software, transcriptionists can check the use of
appropriate grammar, punctuation or the right words within the reports to
express the correct meaning.
 The software may have captured inaudible words as wrong terms, which can
be recognized by transcriptionists and flagged for physicians to review.
 Transcriptionists can correct transpositions of test values or medication
dosage inconsistencies if any, during the process of reviewing and editing.
 There may be contradictory details within dictated notes, which can be
resolved by the transcriptionists during reviewing.

4. To put it in a nutshell, transcriptionists can help to overcome the limitations of
speech recognition software and generate accurate and complete documentation
with fast turnaround times. However, the medical transcriptionists that you choose to
edit your records generated through speech recognition system should have the
following qualities.
 They must be thoroughly knowledgeable in medical terminology, anatomy
and physiology, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures and treatment
assessments.
 They should ideally be familiar with EHR systems as well with the ability to
enter reports, create templates and help in developing documentation
policies.
Physician practices should either train their transcriptionists for that or take help
from professional medical transcription companies that provide three-level
quality assessment involving proofreaders and editors.