Te Whatu Ora Whanganui hospital rapidly captures medical notes to save time while improving patient care
Dragon Medical One enables real‑time documentation for greater accuracy and improved efficiency.
Improving documentation for a busy ED
Te Whatu Ora Whanganui hospital championed a trial of Dragon Medical One in the Emergency Department, resulting in improved time efficiency, greater quality notes, and better patient care. Read the story to learn more.
Challenge
- Capture medical notes quickly in the ED
- Salvage time for improved and more patient care
Solution
Dragon Medical One
Results
- Faster and more accurate medical notes captured in the ED
- Reduced typing time and increased time spent on patient care
- Captured clinical documentation in real time for greater accuracy and improved efficiency
Background
Te Whatu Ora Whanganui hospital is based in New Zealand’s north island and provides in‑hospital medical care as well as healthcare services throughout the local region. This vast area encompasses residents in Whanganui, Ruapehu/Waimarino, Taihape and the Rangitikei Districts. As part of the approximately 110‑bed hospital, Te Whatu Ora Whanganui runs a busy Emergency Department (ED). Entirely focused on providing quality patient care, the ED trialed Nuance’s Dragon Medical One to save time creating medical notes.
According to Dr Eric Siedenburg, Senior Medical Adviser for Digital Services and Emergency Consultant at the hospital, some of the doctors in the ED were already familiar with Nuance’s Dragon Medical One as they had used the voice‑to‑text software while working overseas. Aware of its benefits, they championed a trial which commenced in 2019 with doctors in the ED and mental health department participating.
Why Dragon Medical One?
Nuance Dragon Medical One is a secure, cloud‑based speech platform used by doctors around the world to help boost their efficiency and productivity. It delivers fast and accurate dictation, and streamlines documentation processes by allowing doctors to create and edit notes and documents directly into Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems and other applications by simply using their voice. Dragon Medical One is also compatible across solutions, platforms and devices, meaning that doctors can use the software from anywhere, at any time.
Validation of what we already knew
“The trial validated what we already knew. By using the software, we were able to quickly capture our medical notes by simply speaking. And because you speak much faster than you type, you are genuinely saving time. What’s more, when you are working in an ED that sees about 80 patients per day, that can add up to a considerable amount of time saved that can then be directed towards more and better patient care,” said Eric.
Further time‑saving with autotext
The pace at which doctors create their medical notes can be further augmented by capabilities that are inherent to Dragon Medical One. Autotext lets doctors assign a block of text to a simple voice command. When the voice command is spoken the text instantly appears and can be left as is or edited. The software also allows doctors to create medical templates for various correspondence, reports and documents which are then easily populated using voice.
Accurate medical terminology
The software also comes with a dedicated medical dictionary which adds to the software’s speed and ease of use. “Prior to Dragon we would have to check that we were accurately typing up medical terms. Now, thanks to Dragon’s medical dictionary we no longer have to waste time checking spelling or making corrections. You just voice the medical term and it is accurately transcribed,” said Eric.
Real‑time dictation into the EMR
Another benefit of Dragon Medical One according to Eric is that it lets you record your patient’s medical notes in real‑time, making critical information immediately available to healthcare professionals throughout the hospital. “Using Nuance’s PowerMic you can dictate notes directly into the hospital’s integrated EMR quickly and easily while you are overseeing the care of your patient. This means that if you have to send off the patient to get scans or to perform certain tests, another doctor or health professional can just look at the patient’s EMR if they need to check something which helps reinforce quality patient care.”
Top‑of‑mind patient details
“Dragon Medical One also helps improve the quality of your medical notes which enhances patient care,” says Eric. “Because you can make your notes in real-time, all the patient’s details are still fresh and top of mind, so you are accurately capturing all their medical particulars—history, assessment, diagnosis, and so on. This is very valuable in the ED where you are likely to be dealing with multiple patients simultaneously.”
Greater patient care
Thanks to the time saved, the Emergency Department is now able to provide greater patient care and the medical staff are able to work in a more efficient environment. As a senior doctor in the department, Eric is also able to spend more time directing junior doctors to ensure high quality patient care.
Te Whatu Ora Whanganui, with the help of Nuance reseller, Sound Business Systems, is now exploring rolling out more Dragon Medical One solutions to empower additional senior doctors and registrars.