Medical Dictation Software
Medical dictation is the act of verbally speaking or dictating medical information with the purpose of transcribing that communication to a written or electronic document. Without the right medical dictation software, medical dictation can be a very tedious and time-consuming undertaking. As with all aspects of the medical field, accuracy and quality are extremely important when it comes to patient records, safety, and privacy. Therefore, all of these factors play an important role when choosing the right dictation software.
One of the most important considerations in choosing dictation software is the medical vocabulary the software possesses. Due to the technical nature of medical terminology including coding, prescriptions, and diagnosis, the software must be capable of recognizing these field specific terms. Specialized medical practices and facilities often need to buy specific vocabulary upgrades for their areas of expertise. Along with proper vocabulary, the dictation software also needs to be evaluated for accurate dictation and needs to be capable of incorporating proper punctuation.
Another important aspect of choosing medical dictation software is the software’s relative ease of use. The purpose of medical dictation is to save time and effort in the documentation of medical information. If the software is not user friendly and is too complex, then it defeats the whole purpose. The software should launch quickly and then allow fast setup of dictation sessions. The transfer of the completed audio files also needs to be an easy function.
There are multiple ways that medical dictation software physically allows dictation to occur. Those ways include dictation into a recording device that later plugs into a computer and transfers the files, dictation over the telephone or using voice over IP (VoIP), or dictation using a microphone directly connected to a computer. The convenience of a separate recording device that later plugs into a computer is that the recording can happen at a remote location away from the computer. The recording device is often easy to use, because it has been built specifically for the purpose of dictation. Dictation by telephone also offers similar convenience, because it can be used anywhere a cell phone or VoIP is accessible, and therefore is one of the most popular options.
Medical dictation software allowing dictation over the phone needs to be reviewed for multiple important functionalities. The dictation software needs to be able to support enough phone lines for the size of the office needing to use the software. A larger office will naturally require more phone line support than a smaller one. The software also needs to allow multiple user profiles to record dictation sessions. The number of user profiles needed also depends on the size of the office. It needs to support VoIP and standard analog phone line use, and must offer at a minimum the basic functions of record, rewind, fast-forward, play, and edit which are controlled by the phone’s numeric keypad. The software should automatically send the dictated audio files to the main user’s computer or data storage area either by e-mail or directly through the Internet.
All medical dictation software must also comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enacted in 1996. The HIPAA law regulates the level of privacy security that protected health information must obtain. For dictation software, this means the medical information must be processed through specific levels of data encryption to protect patient privacy.
Proper data protection also needs to be considered from a medical dictation software package. The best dictation software makes it easy to maintain back-up copies of dictated sessions in a database or other data storage area. The data then also needs to be easy to access and sort through when required for future reference or to make additional edits. The best dictation software is also fully compatible with the most commonly used query tools available including SQL and Microsoft Access. These query tools allow for easy access to specific data housed within a storage area such as a database. The stored files should also be capable of compression to reduce the size of the files and allow for maximum efficiency of available data space.
Finally, medical dictation software needs to be evaluated based on price. The available features normally dictate the price of the software, but the most expensive software is not always the best. There are also multiple free versions of dictation software available, referred to as Shareware. These free versions often are not practical to use as they may lack many necessary features and often do not meet HIPAA requirements for data privacy. The best software ultimately depends on the specific needs of the medical professionals seeking to use it, and what best meets those needs.