All three NHS boards currently employ WinScribe digital dictation software from Voice Technologies and have worked closely with the company to develop the WinVoicePro application to make sure the software is compatible with current operations and delivers measurable efficiency savings when in practice.
Stewart Hunter, eHealth Programme Manager at NHS Tayside, says: "The use of WinScribe for digital dictation is a major element of the Board's electronic communications programme which, through the deployment of WinVoicePro and with our national unique patient identifier (Community Health Index), has reduced the risk of patient misidentification and significantly increased our efficiency levels in managing clinical letters. Voice Technologies" WinVoicePro also works with our Electronic Document Transfer service and has dramatically decreased the time taken for the GP Practice to electronically receive discharge letters directly into the GP practices work flow.
"We have consulted with Voice Technologies over a period of 12 months to focus on developing this software to deliver the best results and over this time we have provided extensive feedback, so that the software is now integral to document creation, offering both great time and cost savings."
In addition to being an official supplier of WinScribe, Voice Technologies continues to develop its own software, with WinVoicePro being the latest product from the company to help NHS organisations work towards the government’s efficiency targets.
Heather Wylie, Managing Director of Voice Technologies, says: "As mature WinScribe users, NHS Tayside, NHS Highland and NHS Dumfries & Galloway are all familiar with the benefits of digital dictation and the progression to WinVoicePro was a natural step for them. We have developed the software alongside these three boards and under the National Framework Agreement all NHS boards can now benefit from the time taken to develop this application.
"We have designed the software to run seamlessly alongside WinScribe, while offering the additional benefits of an electronic review procedure, the provision of standard document templates and documents with pre-populated patient details and episode data, all of which we feel will be pivotal to increasing efficiency, while also reducing costs."
It is not only Scottish NHS boards who have selected to deploy WinVoicePro, with Homerton University NHS Foundation Trust having purchased the software and North Tees & Hartlepool NHS piloting the application using the Framework contract established with Voice Technologies for NHS Trusts on Yorkshire and Humber.
About Voice Technologies
Voice Technologies is a leading supplier of digital dictation and speech recognition solutions, operating in healthcare, legal and government sectors. The company's consultative approach helps organisations to integrate digital dictation software into business processes in order to increase efficiency and streamline administration, helping to save time and money and make the best use of business resources.
With offices in Paisley and Sheffield, Voice Technologies works with clients across the UK, including being the sole supplier for digital dictation and speech recognition solutions on the National Framework contract for Scotland and an approved supplier to the Framework contract established for NHS Trusts on Yorkshire and Humber, as well as local government bodies and leading law firms. For more information visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk.