Mackay Base Hospital doctors using voice to text software boosting patient experience

A new software program trialled across Queensland hospitals is saving doctors precious time writing referrals and speeding up wait times for patients to be seen.

It is an environment where seconds count, experiencing increasing demand and career burnout.

But the use of voice to text software in hospital departments is saving doctors valuable time and delivering better patient experiences.

Mackay Base Hospital emergency medicine specialist Dr Andrew Brier said Dragon Medical One had helped save him time each shift taking patient notes and writing referrals.

It meant not only has it given him greater scope to see more patients, it has improved patient experiences in the ED.

“If we can document their journey quicker, we can do their referral letter quicker, we can get them out and free up those beds, reduce the time in the wait rooms and improve patient satisfaction,” he said.

Dragon Medical One, or DMO, software was trialled in emergency, mental health, intensive care units and specialist outpatients by 29 users in the three months to September 2021.

Dr Brier said he was almost twice as efficient using the software, cutting his four to five minutes spent documenting each patient to about two minutes.

“The words on the page is more, and quality has improved as well,” he said.

“I didn’t think it would work.

“I fancied myself as a reasonable typist at around 50 words a minute and thought, how can it work in a busy and chaotic ED, but it does.

Mackay Base Hospital emergency medicine specialist Dr Andrew Brier presented on the use of Dragon Medical One at the Clinical Excellence Showcase and was voted Best Presentation Award by the audience. Picture: Contributed

“After a few weeks I was addicted to it – and now I’m dependent on it. I couldn’t imagine working without this software.”

The trial showed dictation was twice as efficient as typing, it was accurate and was trained to recognise his voice and complex medical terminology including correct spelling of medication.

It can also navigate a user to an external website such as MIMS for medication advice.

Dr Brier said while the quality of notes was a difficult metric, he believed it had improved markedly.

“When you want more descriptive prose for referral letters or to document complex end of life discussions, child safety or domestic and family violence matters, it really comes into its own when you need quality notes in a timely manner,” he said

Mackay Hospital and Health Service acting chief medical officer Dr David Farlow said time saving in a busy ED was important.

“When you consider at least 70 per cent of ED patients go home and are not admitted to hospital, it is significant time saving if you can document their journey quicker and complete their referral letters,” he said.

“This also translates to shorter time in the waiting room and increased patient satisfaction.

“The outcome of the pilot shows a significant improvement with one hour of clinical time saved per shift.”

The health service is looking at expanding the use of Dragon Medical One to improve overall efficiency.

Dr Brier’s presentation at the Clinical Excellence Showcase was voted the Best Presentation Award.