A VOICE recognition system could save Britain鈥檚 National Health Service
millions of pounds each year if health authorities used it to modernise the way
letters to family doctors and patients are produced, a leading consultant in
general medicine said this week.
Owen Epstein of the Royal Free Hospital in London says a voice recognition
service can dramatically reduce the time spent on administration. He says it
could also reduce delays in treatment by speeding communication between
consultants and family doctors.
The Royal Free Hospital overspends on secretarial services by an average of
拢100 000 each year, partly because of the cost of using agency staff.
Frustrated by this, Epstein decided to try out a service called
CyberTranscriber.
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Instead of dictating notes and giving the recording to an audio typist, the
medic simply dictates a note or letter over the phone. The voice recognition
software requires no training, but its accuracy improves the more a particular
client uses it, says Henry Hyde-Thomson of the company that provides the
service, Speech Machines of Malvern, Worcestershire.
The transcription and audio are sent, via a secure Net connection to ensure
confidentiality, to checkers who correct any errors and e-mail the final
document back to the client. Using the system, Epstein found that his secretary
spent, on average, two minutes per patient rather than seven, and can now do a
week鈥檚 work in two days. The system was also cheaper and quicker than using an
audio typing service.
鈥淭he NHS has 41 million outpatients each year, so there are at least 41
million letters being typed each year,鈥� he says. He hopes other hospitals will
now follow his lead.