Army says software improves records documentation

Speech recognition software used to document patient medical records is making the documentation process faster and more accurate, according to a Dec. 6 announcement from the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

The medical center is operated by the Army and the Defense Department and place where soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated there.

The Army Medical Command’s surgeon’s general’s office purchased 10,000 copies of the speech recognition software and distributed the technology to 42 facilities, the service said.

Before using the software, doctors dictated patient notes into a telephone recording machine and then wait days for a transcribing service to transcribe data. With the software, doctors are able to dictate notes into a laptop computer and make edits on the spot, according to the medical center's announcement. The electronic medical records are stored in the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application.

The software is currently being deployed throughout the European Regional Medical Command and should be fully implemented by summer, medical center officials said.