Advantages and Disadvantages of Speech Recognition in EHR Systems

In recent years, speech recognition technology has made significant improvements in terms of performance, accuracy, and availability. While advancements in technology have played a major role in its development, the rise in its use across various industries, including customer service, smart devices, and healthcare, has accelerated its growth. In healthcare, speech recognition is becoming a useful tool in combating physician burnout caused by the demands of medical documentation. 

Below, we explore both the advantages and disadvantages of using speech recognition for EHR systems.

Understanding Speech Recognition

Before exploring the pros and cons of speech recognition, it's important to understand its core function. Speech recognition is the process of converting spoken words into written text using specialized algorithms and machine learning models. It focuses on identifying individual words spoken by a person. Often confused with voice recognition, speech recognition differs in that it doesn't identify the speaker but rather the words spoken. In this blog, we will focus primarily on speech recognition and its integration with EHR systems, as well as its benefits and drawbacks in medical documentation.

EHR Integration with Speech Recognition Software

When speech recognition systems are connected to Electronic Health Record (EHR) software, they change how clinical documentation is done. These systems allow healthcare professionals to dictate patient notes, treatment plans, and other medical records directly into the EHR, cutting down on administrative work and removing the need for manual typing. This technology makes it possible to create patient notes in real-time during or right after appointments, leading to more precise and complete documentation.

Advantages of Speech Recognition for EHR's

Speech recognition technology is reshaping healthcare by improving efficiency, accuracy, and the quality of patient care. This advanced method brings various benefits to both healthcare providers and institutions. Consider the pros and cons of using speech recognition with electronic health records (EHRs) to decide if it fits your team’s needs. Speech recognition has gained widespread use in healthcare, and it’s easy to see why. It provides clinicians with a nearly hands-free method to input data and update patient records.  Speech recognition technology has become a significant partner in healthcare. Some of the most notable benefits and of speech recognition for EHR’s include:

Speech Recognition for Modern Medical Transcription 

Modern speech recognition tools function similarly to traditional medical transcriptionists, who listen to recordings of patient visits and transcribe them into written reports. This is one of the main advantages of speech recognition in the context of EHRs. Rather than hiring a third-party transcriptionist, providers can use speech recognition devices to transcribe their notes in real-time. After dictating their patient interactions, the speech recognition system processes the speech and generates a completed medical note that can be uploaded directly into the provider’s EHR system.

Saving Time & Money

The vast array of command-based responses integrated into an EHR system can significantly reduce the time needed for traditional dictation. Furthermore, the elimination of transcription saves physicians between $30,000 and $50,000 annually.

Voice recognition technology also addresses many of the frustrations that physicians typically have with EHR systems. Without it, doctors often face numerous screens, checkboxes, drop-down lists, and other fields, taking anywhere from 5 to 12 minutes and over 100 mouse clicks to complete a single note. In contrast, with trained voice recognition, creating an exam note can be completed in under 90 seconds.

Adopting an EHR system with voice recognition not only cuts overhead costs by up to 60% but can also boost patient throughput and billable revenue by 25%.

When it comes to saving time and money, voice recognition makes the difference.

Built for EHR’s

Newer technologies have taken speech recognition a step further by integrating it directly with EHR systems. When an EHR system integrates with voice recognition technology, physicians don’t need to articulate full sentences or give detailed explanations. An EHR system should be set up to respond with specific, command-driven actions that match different procedures, symptoms, treatment plans, and other relevant factors. Physicians can also use voice commands to modify or add details to the auto-filled entries like dates, descriptions, and timeframes.

This integration can recognize medical terminology and streamline the documentation process. In theory, this offers a significant advantage to providers overwhelmed by documentation tasks, as it reduces the need for dictation or third-party transcriptionists. Providers can complete their medical notes in the same system without needing additional tools or staff support.

Drawbacks of Speech Recognition for EHR’s

Although speech recognition offers several advantages, certain internal challenges can hinder its smooth integration into hospitals and clinics. These challenges might include:

Accuracy Concerns

Speech recognition technology in healthcare still faces major issues with accuracy. Even though these systems have improved, they often struggle to understand context and medical terms, which can result in serious mistakes in patient records. For example, confusing conditions like hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism could lead to incorrect treatments and even legal issues for healthcare providers. Research has highlighted troubling error rates, with one study finding an average of 1.3 errors per emergency department note, 15% of which were significant from a clinical standpoint. Another study showed that physician-generated notes using speech recognition had four times the error rate compared to notes created without it.

Integration with Existing Systems

Integrating speech recognition systems often presents technical challenges. Many healthcare facilities still rely on outdated systems that may not work well with newer technologies. Ensuring smooth operation between old software and new speech recognition tools requires specialized knowledge and might come with additional costs for system updates. Moreover, transferring imaging reports and medical records to electronic health record (EHR) systems can be difficult due to the different data formats used. This is especially true since many of these reports lack standardization and tend to use more informal language.

Dictation

One of the key drawbacks of speech recognition for EHR systems is the high level of dictation required. To ensure accurate transcription, providers must carefully dictate each section of the medical note, including punctuation and formatting. This level of control often negates any time saved by not using a transcriptionist, as providers must spend time dictating every detail. Moreover, constantly pausing to dictate non-medical information, such as punctuation and formatting, can disrupt the provider's workflow and train of thought, making the documentation process more cumbersome.

Training and Adaptation Concerns

For speech recognition technology to be used effectively, thorough training for staff is essential. If training is inadequate, the system may not be used properly, leading to unnecessary work. Healthcare workers need to become familiar with how to use the technology, including the correct dictation methods and understanding its strengths and limitations. The learning process can be challenging, especially for older users who might not be as comfortable with new technology. Additionally, dictating medical information, even the basic punctuation, can be tiring for providers, which may create reluctance to fully adopt the system.

After-Hours Recall 

Another significant challenge with speech recognition for EHRs is the reliance on memory. Since most providers choose to dictate their notes after the patient visit, they often have to recall detailed information from the encounter, sometimes hours or days later. This delay can lead to gaps in the documentation, as providers may forget critical details. Missing or incorrect information can negatively affect patient care and increase the risk of medical errors or malpractice claims. Although speech recognition can be an efficient tool, the need for accurate recall can outweigh its benefits in some situations.

Conclusion

Speech recognition technology is having a strong impact on healthcare, bringing both benefits and challenges. These systems help increase efficiency, improve interactions with patients, and lead to cost reductions over time. However, they also face challenges, such as issues with accuracy, integration with existing systems, and user adaptation. As this technology advances, its connection with electronic health records and its comparison with AI-based medical scribes show its growing importance in changing the way clinical documentation is done.

Looking to the future, speech recognition in healthcare is expected to improve further, with advancements in accuracy and the addition of new features like emotion recognition. Its use in telemedicine is also increasing, making remote healthcare consultations more efficient. Despite some remaining challenges, the potential benefits of speech recognition systems indicate they will continue to be a key factor in shaping the future of healthcare delivery, aiming to enhance patient care and improve the efficiency of healthcare providers.

Try SOAPsuds to Eliminate Dictation and Delayed Turnaround Times 

SOAPsuds is among the best innovative solutions in medical transcription and clinical documentation that combines speech recognition and voice recognition to automate medical documentation. It uses advanced AI and natural language processing to extract essential details from conversations between providers and patients. Unlike traditional speech recognition, which requires manual dictation, SOAPsuds can distinguish between the provider's voice and the patient's, creating accurate transcriptions in real-time. After generating the transcription, SOAPsuds automatically uploads the completed medical note into the provider’s system, eliminating the need for after-hours dictation and information recall. With SOApsuds, providers can focus more on patient care and leave the documentation to the technology.