Are you a busy physician frustrated by spending too much time in the EHR? Many providers have found that medical dictation software can substantially speed up clinical documentation.
If you work long hours and feel bogged down by clinical notes, consider using mobile medical dictation to complete EHR documentation faster.
Doctors spend too much time in the EHR
Since EHRs became the norm, doctors have seen a significant increase in paperwork time, including clinical documentation. EHR software is improving, but it still takes too long to check all the boxes and create notes that meet reporting and reimbursement requirements.
The result is that in 2023 the average physician spends nearly 10 hours weekly documenting patient visits in the EHR. And according to one study, the average family doctor devotes 1.5 hours to the EHR each night after work.
Given this new reality, it’s no wonder many providers believe EHRs contribute to physician burnout. Today, 53% of physicians say they are burnt out, and most providers attribute their professional dissatisfaction partly to the burden of bureaucratic tasks.
But, like it or not, digitization in healthcare is a one-way trend. Since EHRs are the new normal, doctors need strategies to streamline clinical documentation and avoid burnout. Replacing typing with mobile speech-recognition software is one popular solution for reducing EHR time.
Talking is faster than typing
Writing the patient narrative in the EHR can be a significant time sink, especially for clinicians who aren’t fast typists. The average doctor types about 30 words per minute (WPM), or five times slower than most people speak.
Speech recognition software, on the other hand, is now faster and more accurate than ever. Stanford researchers found that dictating with speech-to-text software is roughly three times faster than typing on a computer. Similarly, our calculations based on peer-reviewed research found that using medical speech-to-text software increases EHR documentation speed by 36%.
Changing your documentation workflow indeed requires upfront cost and effort. However, when considering your professional satisfaction and the financial return on your investment, switching to dictation is well worth the effort.
Here’s how one provider put it after switching from Dragon Medical to Mobius Conveyor for medical dictation:
“It’s easier to not change because of resistance, but it’s worth the effort to flip that switch and integrate dictation because it’s something you’ll use forever. I bet there isn’t one doctor who has used a dictation system like Dragon or Mobius and then stopped using it and returned to typing text as the modality for communicating. There’s a reason no one returns to typing from dictation, and that’s because speaking is natural – it’s human.”
John Williams, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Make your medical dictation mobile
If you don’t already have a preferred speech recognition solution, consider using software that works on your mobile device. One example is Mobius Conveyor, a leading iPhone medical dictation app that works with any EHR.
Conveyor is an obvious choice for physicians who use medical dictation and value flexibility. The app allows you to quickly pair your smartphone with any computer so that you can use your same preferred medical dictation software anywhere. Conveyor even includes a Secure Memos feature to record a voice memo while traveling and send the dictation to the EHR when you return to a work computer.
Whether you use Conveyor or another medical dictation software, it’s time to beat burnout and spend less time in the EHR. With modern speech-recognition technology, getting clinical notes done has never been easier.
