More and more products are making it easier every day for physicians to do their jobs. Transcription software and the speech recognition tools that it uses have vaulted to the head of the pack, according to Dr. Jon Wahrenberger, because they allow him to accurately capture mounds of data.
Dr. Wahrenberger, a cardiologist at Lebanon, NH-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, has been using the Sennheiser DW Pro1 headset as a key element of his speech recognition software setup, “enabling him to capture and create the ‘clinical narrative’ of his patients,” according to a company press release. Healthcare providers are moving to electronic health records (EHRs) in response to the provisions of the new health reform law, including HIPAA, which defines medical privacy requirements in this new more fluid workplace. Accuracy is a critical consideration in maintaining these records.
Sennheiser has been designing and manufacturing microphones and headphones for many years, and has recently introduced its DW Pro1 wireless headset, now being used by many clinicians to easily and accurately capture patient data, according to the company’s press release.
Sennheiser, a worldwide manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems that provide clear communication, recently announced the global restructuring of its company and the appointment of two key executives, Greg Beebe, as president of Sennheiser Electric Corporation in the United States and Markus Warlitz as general manager of Sennheiser Latin America, according to a story by Linda Dobel at tmcnet.com. The company also announced a new headset product line, the CIRCLE line, that is designed to be compatible with Cisco and Avaya communication systems, among others, according to the story.
The CIRCLE Series’ noise-canceling microphone cancels out approximately 6 dB more than competitive models, according to Sennheiser, and its built-in NoiseGard™ technology is designed to guard users against sound “bursts” that are unexpected or sudden surges in sound, according to Dobel’s story.
“A big part of what is done in medicine is keeping an accurate record of what you did with a patient — for example, documenting your reasons for starting or stopping a medication,” Dr. Wahrenberger said in the press release. “As a cardiologist, I see patients all day and rely on speech recognition software for this documentation.”
Dr. Wahrenberger noted in the press release that healthcare providers are facing new rules that they must move away from paper to EHRs or be penalized financially. “Part of the logic in this is that you can capture data in a discrete, structured way that helps facilitate behind-the-scenes decision support, which both optimizes care and minimizes errors,” he said in the press release. “The problem is that clinical narratives are often very complex. Speech recognition software helps us document that complexity. The richer the clinical narrative is, the better you communicate and the better you will understand the issues next time you see the patient.”
Dr. Wahrenberger said that the DW Pro1 is especially helpful because the microphone is designed for use with both phone and computer and can be used without a sound card on the computer, getting around the unpredictability of good performance by the sound card. The headphones are also light and comfortable, unlike other headset ear mounts that can be flimsy and not provide the right distance between the mouth and the end of the mic, crucial for clear speech capture.
Dr. Wahrenberger said in the press release that technology is growing in this area. He added that no more than 10 percent of his staff is currently using speech recognition technology, but he expects it to increase to 50 or 60 percent over the long term.
Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
