Voice recognition

Abstract

Perhaps no new technology introduced into radiology has evoked more debate and raw emotion than the use of speech recognition technology for radiology reporting. As adoption of the technology has increased, the controversy has increased, with arguments both for and against its overall value to a radiology service. Among those that use the technology, approximately 20% strongly oppose it, 20% strongly favor it, and the remaining 60% fall somewhere in between. Regardless of who is right, there is no arguing the fact that successfully adopting speech technology has a positive effect on many of the areas in which a radiology service is measured. The reduced report turnaround time, decreased costs associated with producing a report, and overall decrease in confusion about report availability and distribution all support the adoption of this technology. One of the largest issues has been the question of the effect on radiologists productivity and workload. Does it slow the radiologist down to unacceptable production levels, as some claim, or is it just a matter of changing some work habits to\ allow the user to maintain and ultimately improve productivity, as others claim? Real results from sites using this technology appear to support thelatter. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.