Comments on: Will the iPad Follow the Failure of Voice Dictation Software?

By: John Laser

John Laser — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:58:23 +0000

Voice dictation could be fantastic the main problem is though especially in the UK is the variety of voices and accents and that's where these programs seem to screw up unfortunately. I hope they do solve these things soon however imagine how noisy the office would get if everyone used this.

By: Chantal Terry

Chantal Terry — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:12:10 +0000

Voice dictation really created a storm then when it was first introduced. But apart from the hearing impaired, not many would consider using it when there’s a keyboard available.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:30:38 +0000

The real reason why the majority of people aren't using voice recognition is because they do not know that there is another option than using the keyboard. Computers, tablets, phones are not set up to ask you a question whether you want to use either your keyboard or voice or combination of the two because it's not built into the operating system by default with the exception of new android phones. The problem is people don't know the option is available. If more devices started implementing in their operating system like android & it was commercialized people would know about it and use it.

By: Bob Ivor Spokes

Bob Ivor Spokes — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:14:41 +0000

The iPad is a great working tool for me actually; apps are quicker to start up than those on a laptop, it is considerably lighter than most notebooks, and passing it around to a group of people is a lot easlier and less clunky. OK it doesn't have a keyboard, but if I am so inclined to do a lot of work processing I can always get a wireless one and get on it right away.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:29:33 +0000

I dictate and type for work. As someone who worked for a movie studio as an executive assistant while working through school, I can type upwards of 80wpm in English, Russian, and French. I now do ALL of my medical dictations over the phone or via a digital recorder. I tried Dragon and MacSpeech and it was a pain to get 100% reliability in a timely fashion. The timely fashion part is important. As much as TV would portray medicine as a lucrative profession, we operate on thin margins, not as thin as SD card manufacturers, but thin nonetheless. I tried typing all of my notes into an EMR and that cut too much into my time, but was 100% accurate. No errors whatsoever. It is cheaper, faster, and more reliable to send the dictations to India or Ireland. The extra stress and time spent dictating into my MBP is a waste. I can dictate a complete medical visit with physical, H&P, and pre-op orders in under two minutes and have it in my inbox in under a day. And when my dictations aren’t there, I type an email.

It would be nice to have take the iPad into the room, dictate and order tests right from the iPad, snap a picture of a wound status, send the Rx to the pharmacy, and order an imaging study. It could be possible with a device this size and with this power, but it appears that no one is interested in the medical market.

By: David Spark

David Spark — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:42:23 +0000

Trevor:

If you were given an iPhone, an iTouch, or a computer with a keyboard to write an article, produce a video, or radio program, which would you use?

iPhone is a creation device solely because it’s a small device that can capture small bits of content that couldn’t be caught easily in transit with any other device. iPad doesn’t offer that convenience.

By: Trevor M.

Trevor M. — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:29:29 +0000

I disagree that the iPad is mainly a media consumption device due to its lack of an external keyboard. The iPod Touch and iPhone have shown tremendous capabilities without one. The iPad will built upon those successes to become a true media creation device as well. Read my blog post at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/the-ipad-is-a-media-creation-device/ to learn more about how the iPad will be used to create media, not just consume it.

By: David Spark

David Spark — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:58:05 +0000

Catherine:

My father is a doctor and he’s been transcribing his letters and articles for years. He always hired someone to do the transcribing. When I wrote this article 13 years ago I tried to get my father to jump and use it. Being that he’s not so technically adept, he never quite took to it.

But, I do know you don’t need to get the most expensive transcription software to do the task. About ten years ago I know they had versions of the software that allowed you to import documents with industry lingo and they would learn those words. So for example you have a bunch of letters with many of the words you dictate over and over, you can import it into the program and it will learn those words. My guess is that’s your best solution.

As for voice transcription and the iPad together? That wasn’t the point of my article and I don’t see that happening any time soon. In fact, Google’s new phone, the Nexus One touts voice commands. I’ve seen it demoed to me twice and in both cases it kind of worked. And we all know that “kind of worked” = “doesn’t work” in technology.

By: Catherine Fuller, MD

Catherine Fuller, MD — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:35:01 +0000

Dear David, I am desperate for voice recognition medical software for several reasons.
The cost of paying a transcriptionist has sky rocketed and my hands are killing me. I trained in medicine when dinosaurs roamed the earth and am comfortable dictating great consultation letters. I can type incredibly quickly but the pain isn’t worth it. For my subspeciality, Dragon PC wants $1800 and MacSpeech Medical is running $600. I can dictate privately in my office so privacy is no issue here. Please compare these 2 programs and do you anticipate any true effort on Apple’s part to make the iPad a contender in voice recognition. I know there are many MDs who really would appreciate a break from this inertia. Thanks, CFuller, MD

By: David Spark

David Spark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:55:18 +0000

I would love it if a tablet computer would work because I would be thrilled to get rid of every book, CD, and DVD in my house and just carry around one device.

The idea of an iPad or tablet computing is really attractive, but when you get into actual daily use, I don’t see how it can operate as a consistent presence like the phone and notebook computer.