April 16, 2015 — Nuance Communications showcased its newest innovations for bringing clinical documentation to smart devices, smart watches and the Internet of things at the 2015 Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Chicago this week.
Nuance announced PowerMic Mobile, which will be available in May 2015. This mobile app can turn any iOS or Android mobile phone into a powerful and secure dictation device that allows physicians to easily dictate, edit and navigate within the EHR simply by speaking. The app also provides physicians with flexibility in how and when they dictate information into patient records supporting a more convenient workflow.
In addition, recognizing the strong interest in smart watches and other personal devices, Nuance has teamed with Samsung to develop a use case for PowerMic Mobile that will allow physicians to dictate directly into an EHR using Dragon Medical 360 and the Samsung Gear S smart watch.
“2015 has turned into the Year for the Internet of Things and the phenomenon is becoming firmly entrenched in healthcare,” said Jonathon Dreyer, director of cloud and mobile solutions, Nuance Communications. “We are very excited to leverage our deep experience in this domain and to work with a pioneer such as Samsung to bring the power of voice to a new class of documentation tools that bridge conveniences found in clinicians’ personal lives to the healthcare environment.”
“Samsung is a pioneer in smart watches that are not just functional but stylish,” said Ted Brodheim, vice president of Vertical Business at Samsung Electronics America. “Our Gear S like its predecessor smart watches, keeps health and fitness monitoring as a key feature, so this extension of Gear S to improve the healthcare experience is a natural partnership.”
In addition to the Nuance PowerMic Mobile app and demonstration on the Samsung smart watch, Nuance showcased several other mobile and Internet of things innovations in its Cloud and Mobility Pavilion, including:
• Florence on Samsung Gear S smart watch: Nuance demonstrated Florence, its intelligent virtual assistant, on a Samsung Gear S to show how this powerful tool can boost physician productivity through a smart watch. Florence provides a series of voice-driven clinical workflows that allow physicians to record vital signs, interact with patient alerts, document telephone encounters, and place medication, lab, and radiology orders.
• Surgical Glass: Using Nuance secure cloud-based medical speech recognition, Metrix Health's Glass wearable enables surgeons to document operative notes during care, helping to communicate these critically-important notes immediately rather than later from memory. The device provides heads-up display and secure medical dictation during surgery, helping to keep patients safe and improve the efficiency of surgeons.