COMPUTER-BASED SPEECH RECOGNITION AS A REPLACEMENT FOR MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION

OBJECTIVE, We have implemented computerized speech recognition in a hi gh-volume clinical setting using a newly developed commercial software system. This paper compares the performance of the computerized syste m with conventional transcription during a trial week followed by 3 mo nths of routine clinical use. CONCLUSION. The speech recognition syste m was used for 97% of the cases during the trial week and 87% of cases during the months of continuous use. For a similar mixture of cases, no change occurred in the length of reports after introduction of the computerized system. Speech recognition decreased the time until the r eport became available by 99% and resulted in a substantial savings in transcription costs. We conclude that speech recognition by computer is practical in a high-volume clinical implementation.