Southend lay the foundations for Trust-wide implementation of MediSpeech
Aiming to reduce the reliance on paper records and speed up turnaround of clinical correspondence, Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is driving forward the latest phase of its Clinical Electronic Documentation programme (CED).
The integration of MediSpeech, the speech recognition and digital dictation system from G2 Speech, is a central plank of the Trust’s CED programme to modernise processes and technology and enhance its Patient Portal – a one stop destination for all patient information. This month sees Southend planning the ‘proof of concept’ stage, with G2 specialists due on site in the New Year to develop and integrate a bespoke system, compatible with the CED portal, with a pilot group of 10 users from different specialties.
“We are planning to have the system up and running for this group by April 2010,” explains Senior IT Project Manager Jane Mulreany. “As soon as ‘the proof of concept’ stage is completed we will deploy MediSpeech Trust-wide for all our clinical work.
“This first stage is when the groundwork will be done, getting the server in place and the software configured to meet the Trust’s requirements. Roll out of the project should then be relatively smooth and completed within 12-18 months.”
Aware that analogue dictation is a dated form of technology, the Trust will use both digital dictation and speech recognition as part of the CED programme. The goal is to speed up the process by which information is sent out (aiming for a 24-hr turnaround) and make patient information more readily available through the portal for those clinical staff that need it to support the delivery of health care to patients.
G2 Speech is the Trust’s chosen supplier for a whole range of reasons according to Jane Mulreany. “The Trust instigated a tendering process in order to evaluate potential suppliers. We considered a range of criteria including cost, past references, technical knowledge and the ability to provide truly bespoke integration. We also considered how well we would work together and, following interviews and an overall evaluation process, on this occasion G2 Speech came out on top.”
