Tomi Kauppinen PHD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Johanna Kaipio, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Mika P. Koivikko, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

The indisputable benefits from speech recognition (SR), based on the current literature, are immediate finalization and the resultant rapid reporting. SR not only improves productivity and speeds up patient care processes, but also changes quality of the reports, because of better structured and focused dictations. The aim of this study was to recognize how much SR effects to the length of dictations.

This study was done in Toolo hospital in Helsinki University Central Hospital (Helsinki, Finland). The hospital is the largest trauma hospital in Scandinavia providing trauma care, orthopedics, plastic surgery, and neurosurgery for 1.5 million people in southern Finland. Actual use of SR was started in 2005 and experienced users have been used SR since that. We studied SR log entries from experienced SR users 2 and 6 years after SR implementation. Sample size from 12 radiologists after 2 years was 35.000 dictations and 45.000 dictations after 6 years. SR users were equal, except one radiologist left from the study. Studies include regular xray, angiography, ultrasound and CT, as well as MRI. Study profile and requests were constant throughout study time as well as the sample time, which was equal for the both measurements, all dictated cases of the first quarter of the year.

SR was easily adopted and well accepted by radiologists, but in this study, we focused on the dictations itself. Measurements, 2 and 6 years after SR adoption, showed at 2 years a mean report length of 8 dictation lines and at 6 years, 4.5 lines. Total number of dictations increased throughout the study, but is analogous compared overall study increase of the whole organization.

Over a span of several years SR usage shortens reports up to 45%. This surprising finding is previously undocumented and calls for further research. Our subjective impression - and hypothesis for further study - is that the readability and content of the reports concurrently improves, becoming more focused and structured.

Speech recognition usage decreases length of dictations up to 45%.

Kauppinen, T, Kaipio, J, Koivikko, M, Speech Recognition Decreases Length of Dictations.  Radiological Society of North America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 25 - November 30, 2012 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2012/12024938.html