In a world of constant technological advancement, it seems like everyone and everything is going digital. We see digitization in industries like marketing, real estate, education and more. But the industry that’s really making a jump into the digital realm is healthcare.

So what exactly are we using technology for in healthcare? We’re seeing technology transform some seriously astounding tasks like genome sequencing, drug development, 3D printing, surgical robotics and much more. However, technology is also contributing to some not-so-complex services such as electronic medical records.

Digitization in Healthcare

With the need for faster and highly accurate patient data is growing at a rapid rate. As a result, physicians are finding it more and more beneficial to switch from paper medical records to electronic ones. An electronic medical record is exactly what it sounds–an electronic record of a patient’s medical history.

This shift has allowed physicians to access vital information at the click of a button. Thus, making EHRs a huge advancement in the documentation of medicine. You may be wondering–what does going digital mean for the productivity of my practice? We’re here to give you those answers.

Weighing the pros and cons of EMR

Pros

Electronic medical records in healthcare facilities bring a lot to the table. They allow medical staff to access charts faster, relay information more efficiently and even make billing and insurance processes easier.

Additionally, EHR allows physicians can access patient records and history from virtually anywhere. Long gone are the days of searching through a sea of file cabinets for patient records. Instead, physicians can access records from any system that is compatible with their EMR. This makes communication with billing and insurance companies–along with the transference of any information–a whole lot easier.

Cons

As you can see, EMRs come with plenty of advantages. While they’re great for interoperability, EHRs actually take up a lot of face time between them and their patients. In fact, a recent survey found that physicians cited electronic medical records as the top factor contributing to their stress. Shouldn’t a system be doing the opposite? We certainly think so.

For every hour your physicians are spending with a patient, they’re spending an additional two hours going back into the system and charting the visit. Because of the complexity of the software, unfortunately, EMRs are at times, not very user-friendly–resulting in a lot of extra time spent inputting and editing information.

As a result of complicated EHRs, we often see physicians opting for services like voice recognition software to document information into their EMR systems. Next, let’s take a look at voice recognition software and how it’s affecting the documentation.

The Trouble With Voice Recognition Software

So why are EMRs sucking up all of this time? The answer: the amount of time it takes to document patient records. Though it is true that with electronic records physicians no longer need to hand-write their notes, they now have to enter them into a structured, complex system that can be difficult to navigate. In other words, the complexity of the EMR system makes it more difficult for physicians to quickly and accurately dictate their notes.

As a result, many industries use voice recognition software to turn spoken words into electronic notes. However, the healthcare industry is unique in the sense that every diagnosis, prescription or symptom requires 100% accurate documentation–something that voice recognition can not yet achieve. For one, there’s a specific language that a computer simply cannot pick up on. Things like nuances and sentence syntax are pieces of language that voice recognition technology seems to miss the cut on.

So, if we can’t rely on voice recognition software for accurate documentation, what can we use instead?

Using Medical Transcription to Enhance Your Practice’s Productivity

While there are a number of advances in technology have enhanced the lives of our physicians, voice recognition software just doesn’t make that list. So what do you do when faster, more precise documentation is needed? You pair digital dictation with a medical transcription service.

Digital dictation allows the physician to speak into an electronic recording device that is linked to a medical transcriptionist. The transcriptionist then types each word into the physician’s EMR system. Once the information is inputted, the physician can go back and review the documentation without having to spend hours editing and fixing mistakes.

Pairing digital dictation with medical transcription for proper documentation is useful and effective for a few reasons. For one, transcriptionists are highly specialized professionals, who are trained to understand the very specific language of medicine. Also, a transcriptionist is a person, meaning they are able to pick up on pieces of language that technology like voice recognition software simply cannot.

Additionally, a carefully trained medical transcriptionist can not only transcribe highly accurate notes, but they also understand the intricacies of medical terminology–a luxury that artificial intelligence does not yet have. A medical transcription company may provide multi-level editing to ensure top-notch accuracy, saving even more time for physicians.

The DataMatrix Difference

Ultimately, a medical transcription company adds a much-needed human touch to your services. At DataMatrix Medical, our highly-skilled transcriptionists are trained to use the templates that you already use in your EMR system–reducing dictation and medical transcription costs as well as point-and-click work for your physicians.

Our transcriptionists are trained to be accurate and concise. Their entire job is to take the words and intent from the physician and input them into the EMR system. This type of specificity allows them to be extremely articulate in their transcriptions, resulting in error rates lower than 2%.

At the end of the day, it’s all about what will work best for your practice. With your physicians working around the clock to provide exceptional patient care, why not save them some time by pairing your services with medical transcription? For more information on how medical transcription can benefit your practice, visit our website today or download our ebook, The Power of Intent: Why Words Matter in Medical Transcription to learn more about medical transcription.