DRS - Diagnostic Radiological Services Inc.
Looking closely to the need of the business and aligning the above criteria into the existing business vision it was clear that Diagnostic Radiological Services (DRS) would require to move with the times and explore innovative ideas to reach its business objectives. DRS has used software technology trends, such as artificial Intelligence (AI) with voice recognition solutions to better their business workflows and innovate in a way that reaches business objectives through a change in workflows to allow for faster report generation through the use of Dragon Medical Software.
Medical dictation has developed so well, that it can easily be implemented to generate the diagnostic report through voice and convert to text in real time. Voice recognition software offers the freedom and flexibility to complete patients’ radiology reports at comfortable pace, with little or no need for medical typists, therefore dramatically reducing the amount of time spent on administration between the typist and the radiologist. The radiologist can check his report and approve immediately. With this workflow it allows the patient to get out the door 20-30 minutes sooner. Figure 1 and 2 respectively show a time-based process map of the current model verse impact it would have on the patients’ waiting time during a typical examination.
The facts
The customer
DRS - Diagnostic Radiological Services, Inc
Figure 1. Timed-based process mapping of the patient lifecycle without the use of Dragon Medical Software.
Figure 2. Timed-based process mapping of the patient lifecycle with the use of Dragon Medical Software.
The implementation of voice recognition solution within DRS is using technological Innovation as business driver and as a result improving patient experiences through our various practices. It is important to note the benefits of voice recognition on the business and the workflow, as it stands it had a ripple effect on the business and the overall operation cost. With the adoption of the voice recognition the following items was observed:
- Faster patient processing times with the reduction of time it takes to generate a diagnostic report.
- Lower staffing costs, with voice recognition, reducing the need for medical typists.
- Radiologists are more productive as they are not distracted between examinations. Traditionally the radiologist will take on another study whilst the typist converts the study into a report. When the typist completed this conversion, the typist sends it back to the radiologist to finalise and approve. Radiologists with voice recognition would have the report fully ready in front of them, whereby they will revise and approve immediately.
- Supporting the uptake of the new workflow with radiologists is an ongoing endeavour, by training, product learning and enhancements with the aid of our vendor Powerhouse Dictation.
- Powerhouse Dictation provided training to Radiologists in learning voice commands to generate high quality reports, which was an essential part of the process, in addition, provided training on formatting commands which aided the adoption of VR in our environment.
In conclusion, when reflecting on the needs of the patient, a close analysis was taken within the DRS environment and all departments involved. Partnering with a specialist company – Powerhouse Dictation – they had assisted DRS with realizing short-term goals and longer-term goals through a robust voice recognition solution. By collecting information on how the project was taken up we ensure that all stakeholders remain appeased, by taking steps to improve the innovation process through training where needed to ensure adoption. History reminds us of the great innovative leaders in recent times, including Tesla, Microsoft, Toyota, Facebook and Netflix. It is important to invest in technology and innovation to drive DRS to the bleeding edge of Radiology through constant evolution.
*Powerhouse Dictation also supplied and configured Philips SpeechMikes to be used for reporting into the Dragon Medical software