Past history the usual up to the usual. There is absolutely no question in my mind that voice recognition has great promise. The bottom line is that I own a medical transcription service, not the Psychic Friends Network. Just because someone got through medical school does not mean that that person speaks fluent English. So, before we get a little too intoxicated with the promise of new technology, perhaps we ought to pause for a good stiff reality check.
Voice recognition depends on computers.
A computer s cold and calculating objectivity can cause problems for a doctor s ego. Others are trying to do three things at the same time while fielding interruptions from support staff. Some doctors create well-organized reports that have a beginning, a middle and an end. The following two examples are taken from dictation by a physician who used to be the chairman of his hospital s Medical Records Committee. The patient is a 30 year old right handed married mother of one child age four who is a former office manager in a family business in steel fabrication and who was placed on permanent disability in February of 1997.