The healthcare industry isn’t exactly on the forefront of implementing new technologies. A 2014 Forbes article weighs in on this topic, delving into the details of why the field lags behind when it comes to adopting tech. The reasons are numerous — from tools costing too much to physicians seeing technology as impersonal.
And within the ecosystem, some fields of medicine are surging ahead of others. Which ones are moving faster? A recent report from Reaction’s Research Cloud takes a closer look by examining the adoption of speech recognition technology.
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In October 2016, Reaction’s Research Cloud surveyed 147 individuals in the cardiology field, from cardiologists to cardiology managers to cardiology directors.
Only 22 percent of respondents said their organization utilizes a speech recognition system. The majority (64 percent) said they create patient reports directly in their cardiovascular information system. The remaining 14 percent indicated they dictate a patient report and the transcription finishes it.
For the organizations that have made use of speech recognition tools, the top vendor choice appears to be Nuance. Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of participants said they use the Burlington, Massachusetts-based company’s technology. M*Modal came in second place, with 17 percent indicating they use its services.
As for the cardiology facilities that have thus far avoided adoption, there seem to be a variety of underlying reasons behind the resistance. Thirty-eight percent of those who haven’t adopted said speech recognition for cardiology isn’t accurate enough yet. Another 36 percent claimed it doesn’t lend itself to workflow in cardiology. Twenty-four percent chalked it up to a lack of budget for implementing the tools, while 5 percent said it doesn’t have a proven ROI.
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Yet the future of speech recognition implementation is still slightly bright. Almost half (46 percent) of respondents who haven’t adopted said they’re considering it now. And 15 percent said they expect to embrace the technology in the next year or two. Still, 39 percent indicated they’re unlikely to ever adopt such tools.
Overall, cardiology clearly seems to be slow to implement speech recognition technology. That sluggishness is especially pronounced when compared to the radiology field, which has “adoption rates north of 90 percent,” according to Reaction’s Research Cloud.
As the report highlights, though, either method has its benefits and downfalls.
“Adopt early — potentially pay more and deal with the frustrations of fledgling technology, but hopefully improve workflow,” the report states. “Adopt later — pay less, in theory enjoy better functionality with more developed platforms, but suffer through the inefficiencies of the ‘old way.'”
Photo: Creative-Touch, Getty Images
