Provider Adoption of Speech Recognition and its Impact on Satisfaction, Documentation Quality, Efficiency, and Cost in an Inpatient EHR

This study utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the adoption of speech recognition (SR) and its impact ON provider satisfaction, documentation quality, efficiency, and cost when used for clinical documentation within the electronic health record (EHR). Qualitative surveys gauged providers’ expectations and experiences regarding documentation before and after SR implementation. A new methodology was developed to measure SR adoption as a proportion of total documentation volume. Quantitative data was collected from the EHR, medical transcription and SR solutions to measure SR adoption and cost savings. Study results revealed significant improvements in satisfaction, documentation quality, and efficiency among providers as a direct result of SR use. An improved provider experience correlated to an 81% reduction in monthly medical transcription costs, an increase from 20% to 77% in electronic clinical documentation adoption, and a 74% SR adoption rate.