June 27, 2008 - A new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor said that healthcare automation is driving growth in speech technology and the leading vendors, Nuance and Philips, are providing specialized solutions.
The report, "Automating and Enhancing Processes through Voice in Desktop and Back Office Environments," explains that although adoption of PC-based speech recognition is not widespread, the technology has found its niche in the healthcare market, where automation and cost savings are key drivers.
Tight budgets and the need for accurate patient records are forcing healthcare providers to automate processes with speech recognition, said the report.
In order to reduce the error rate in diagnosis and ensure information is recorded efficiently, healthcare providers are adopting electronic health records (EHRs). Using speech recognition with digital dictation systems, to dictate notes directly into EHRs, means that doctors can update information faster and with lower error rates.
Speech recognition is also being used for medical transcription, easing pressure on transcriptionists and allowing healthcare providers to save on staffing costs, said the report.
For more information: www.datamonitor.com