Using dictation solutions to increase quality of care

Making the most of the day when “every minute matters” 
In the healthcare field, Dr. Kantas points out, “every minute matters – every minute can make a significant difference in what you can accomplish in a work day and can help you serve patients better and more efficiently.” To help them focus on their patients during visits, many physicians in the Beth Israel Deaconess system enlist the help of clinical scribes to take notes and get them recorded and filed by the end of the day. Dr. Kantas also sometimes works with a scribe, but says he finds using the SpeechMike a cost-effective and streamlined way to compile his notes. “The device is a very economical tool, and it’s a direct extension of my own thinking processes without any need for clarification or interpretation, which can sometimes happen with scribes,” says Dr. Kantas. After recording his voice notes to his laptop, he can review them, re-dictate if needed, and add further comments where appropriate to make the most of his time with patients to create thorough, well-articulated Clinical Documentation.

Enabling increased accuracy and flexibility 

Another benefit Dr. Kantas has found using the SpeechMike is its capability to deliver accurate results while accommodating for variances in speech patterns, dialects, and more. Together with Dragon Medical speech recognition software from Nuance, Dr. Kantas says using the wireless dictation device helps capture and convert his voice recordings with extremely high text accuracy.

“Even though I haven’t yet fully explored all the capabilities of the SpeechMike and including the fact that English is my second language, I’m able to achieve up to 95% accuracy,” he estimates, “and I think that could be even higher with increased use.”  Dr. Kantas continues to hone his dictation skills and is always seeking ways to improve upon his notetaking process. Most recently, he incorporated AirBridge wireless adaptor to his SpeechMike Premium Air which, at the size of a quarter, allows for mobile capabilities to help him quickly move between patient exam rooms, while maintaining connectivity to his dictation processes. 

In a field like healthcare where time is limited – but tedious tasks such as documentation are mandatory – having tools to execute them with both speed and precision are vital. Helping dedicated healthcare professionals like Dr. Kantas avoid mistakes, work faster and more efficiently, and spend more quality time with patients is what Philips Dictation strives to do every day as technology becomes a more indispensable resource in the industry. As tools such as the SpeechMike Premium Air and AirBridge continue to evolve, so will the ability to provide the best patient care possible, which is the ultimate goal of physicians everywhere.