- SpeechWrite Digital carried out research to discover UK health professionals’ attitudes to going paperless
- 83% of NHS staff report tangible efficiency improvements from going paperless
- 44% thought the system made it easier to locate data and 26% said it gave them more time for patient-facing tasks
- 44% were convinced that it reduced the duplication of work, and 30% that it improved clinical outcomes
- But 88% of practices surveyed were not currently using voice recognition software in any capacity
83% of NHS staff report tangible efficiency improvements from going paperless, according to research by SpeechWrite Digital.
The company recently commissioned a survey to discover UK health professionals’ attitudes to going paperless and to what degree digital technology had impacted their workplace and working methods.
The research was carried out to build up a picture of the attitudes and problems the NHS is facing in its drive to increase its digital platforms and technological usage.
And, at the same time, it also highlighted the challenges and barriers to the widespread adoption of technology in a busy working environment.
The research comes as the government works to ensure that the NHS will provide a fully-digital health and social care records system by 2020.
The Government firmly believes digitisation will reduce file duplication, speed up information sharing, and make it easier for data location
This challenging agenda is driven by the increased workload on health care workers, but also by the proven time savings that going digital brings.
Emma Deakin, marketing manager at SpeechWrite Digital, said: “The nature of the process of consultation, notation and transcription means there is always going to be paperwork involved with UK health care.
“But the Government firmly believes digitisation will reduce file duplication, speed up information sharing, and make it easier for data location.”
Approximately half of respondents to the survey said their practices had implemented the use of digital dictation technology.
One of the key findings was that among those health professionals who had already adopted digital dictation or voice recognition technology; 44% thought the system made it easier to locate data. 26% said it gave them more time for patient-facing tasks, 44% were convinced that it reduced the duplication of work, and 30% that it improved clinical outcomes. But, by far the largest percentage was that 83% thought the software increased the overall practice efficiency.
The survey also revealed that 88% of practices surveyed were not currently using voice recognition software in any capacity, though some respondents were interested in the solution and had looked into implementing it.
Those who have upgraded have experienced improved efficiency by adopting voice recognition.
The latest VR software has a built-in vocabulary that is specific to medical terminology and the microphones are fitted with a hygiene-friendly antimicrobial surface, which is ideal for the clinical environment.
The new systems integrate with existing databases, enabling medical centres to maximise the capability of both their existing electronic patient records (EPR) system and their digital dictation software.
The fact that practices where voice recognition technology and digital dictation software has been deployed are noticing some big improvements is very positive for us
With systems, patient information can be imported directly from the records system and embedded into the dictation document. This level of integration has eliminated errors and delivered proven time savings. There are also no security concerns or questions of confidentiality as the software provides full encryption and secure file transfer.
Medical voice recognition allows clinicians to relay a patient’s care narrative verbally, and have it transcribed directly into the Electronic Health Record.
Deakin said: “The fact that practices where voice recognition technology and digital dictation software has been deployed are noticing some big improvements is very positive for us.
“There’s no better way to demonstrate the tangible benefits of solutions in action than to hear from people who have used it in their everyday lives and these findings should encourage other health care professionals to look at their work practices and think seriously about upgrading their procedures.”
