A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Dragon Naturally Speaking instead of transcribing? - yochana

Posted: Nov 06, 2009

Has anyone used Dragon NS instead of transcribing? Does it take a long time to train it? Is it really faster and worth the money? Thanks!

Dragon Naturally Speaking - MT4ever

[ In Reply To ..]
I just bought it at a local WalMart and tried using it last week, but found it rather difficult to train. I could type it faster than I could use the software.

can you be specific when you say "difficult to train" - Snow Bunny

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Also, what type of transcription were you doing (i.e. acute care, letters, SOAP notes), and how many specialties?

Just ordered Dragon - TexMT

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I just ordered the Standard for half listed price that comes with a headset/microphone and then got a deal on the Professional version from an eBay bid. Cannot wait to test them. I also saw online that HTH Engineering (of Start-Stop fame) have a program called TME (Transcription Made Easy) that looks like a foot-pedal controlled interface similar to EditScript for $150. I believe you can import wave files and other voice files, .dss one of them, into Dragon and get a draft. Don't quote me.

I will post back when I experiment a bit here.

I am into my third week of VR with EditScript and I never want to straight type again. So, I still have two private clients and I am hoping I can quickly import all the year's worth of documents to "train" Dragon and do my private accounts that way.

Keep you all poster.

VR with Dragon - PetLove

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Sounds like you're using Dragon with VR? Does it interface and make corrections? Curious how well that's working for you.

you can't use Dragon with VR - Snow Bunny

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Dragon *is* VR/SR.

To use Dragon in this line of work you need to do what is called "echo dictate." You listen to what the dictator is saying and repeat it. Over time you learn to "edit on the fly," but initially it's verbatim. The reason being, you're listening and dictating at the exact same time, much like listening and typing at the exact same time. The prcoess is the same. It's just the output device (finger vs mouth) are the difference.

Dragon vs VR/SR - PetLove

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I guess my question is, if you have work coming in as VR/SR, is it faster to just delete all that and use the Dragon so you're not looking for all the corrections needed in VR?

I've never done editing - Snow Bunny

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so I cannot compare the two with any level of accuracy. But, from everything I've read, yeah, I'd say you probably could produce more lines with Dragon than you could editing.

Try this ... edit a short report like you normally do, but time yourself. Next, rewind the voice file and transcribe the report WITHOUT using your abbreviation expander. Just like the old typewriter days ... type everything out. Same as before, time yourself.

If you can complete the report faster typing everything out that you would editing it, then I'd say you could definitely produce more lines using Dragon than the way you currently edit.

you were given half the story - Snow Bunny

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, you can import wav files into Dragon, but you're going to get garbage on the screen unless the individual whose wave file you are importing created a User File of their voice.

In terms of important a year's worth of documents into Dragon, you will definitely improve your level of accuracy "out of the starting gate," but there are other factors involved. You need separate Users for each specialty.

Then there's also the issue regarding the correct sound card and microphone, plus you have to dictate correctly. These all come into play.

Email if you want to discuss things further.

Sellers never give the whole story - TexMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks Snow Bunny...I will get back to you definitely, but have 5 more 10-hour days here and Wednesday, my only day off, I will be fussing with the Dragon.

I have seen some of the USB port sound cards so I may have to use that technology instead of my internal sound cards (I have RealTek on board the motherboard and Sound Blaster Audigy PCI which I understand is not compatible with Dragon).

I also have a call to the technicians at HTH Engineering about the Transcription Made Easy interface, so perhaps I'll have more information from them by Wednesday.

If there is anyway we as transcriptionists can use these tools to help us beat the deterioration of our line rates and reduce repetitive stress injury after 40 years on the job I am all for it.

I am hopeful something comes of the Dragon, just not sure how it's going to look yet.

all is not lost - Snow Bunny

[ In Reply To ..]
>>>I have seen some of the USB port sound cards so I may have to use that technology instead of my internal sound cards (I have RealTek on board the motherboard and Sound Blaster Audigy PCI which I understand is not compatible with Dragon).

Youâ��ve again been misinformed. RealTek is compatible with Dragon, but only if itâ��s a standalone sound card (you put it into an open slot). What you donâ��t want a sound card thatâ��s integrated into the motherboard (you can't remove it), and it doesnâ��t matter who is the manufacturer. And the SoundBaster Audigy PCI is most certainly compatible with Dragon. What you may need to consider is purchasing is the Andrea Full Duplex PureAudio USB pod, which is well worth the $45.00 cost: http://www.knowbrainer.com/ShopOnline/index.cfm/product/110_22/andrea-full-duplex-pureaudio-usb-sa-usb-pod.cfm

You will insert into the jack at the back of your computer where you would normally insert your microphone, and then you plug your microphone into one of the holes in the pod and your headset into the other hole. Thatâ��s the setup I have.

What I should ask is what microphone are you going to be using? That can be just as important as your sound system.

>>>If there is anyway we as transcriptionists can use these tools to help us beat the deterioration of our line rates and reduce repetitive stress injury after 40 years on the job I am all for it.

Dragon is definitely the way to go, but you have to understand up front that youâ��re not likely to have the same production that you would right now using your keyboard in conjunction with the abbreviation expander. It takes a bit of effort to â��tame the Dragon,â�� but if youâ��re willing to put in the time and effort you can boost your line count in a relatively short period of time.

Just do me a favor and E-mail me when you get everything set up, and Iâ��ll give you explicit instructions on how to get Dragon up and running in the shortest period of time. In the meantime, if you have a way to convert your expander entries to a text file and then remove the abbreviations, leaving only the phrases, that would be an excellent start. IOW, you have â��tpâ�� for â��the patientâ�� and â��wtttorâ�� for â��was taken to the operating roomâ�� (and so on and so forth). The more, the better. That information will be imported into the Dragon vocabulary, which should give you a huge boost in accuracy right from the start.

Jumping in here, person told not to use this in her work - Lynne

[ In Reply To ..]
For whatever reason an coworker of mine got a dragon and was told by her company she could not use. I do not know the whys, just know that was what happened after her purchasing the Dragon. By the way, the lady did not like it, said too difficult to train.

I think I know why - Snow Bunny

[ In Reply To ..]
Having been through the same problem with a well-known service. What they said is: When you type out "the patient is a 45-year-old white female" that is considered "transcribing," but when you speak the exact same words into Dragon it's "re-dictating," and "we don't allow that."

You are paid for the finished product and NOT how you achieve it. What if a service told you that Instant Text was the only abbreviation expansion program you were allowed to use? Why should it matter HOW the words got onto the page?

And Dragon is not difficult to train, but it is time consuming. When you're using the keyboard and you make a mistake, you can simply hold down the Ctrl key and press the backspace key to delete the previous word. There's more involved in Dragon, but if you're willing to put the time and effort in you should have no trouble surpassing your keyboard production. I didn't get from 250 lph (out of the box) to 450+ lines per hour without continuously training Dragon.

I'd like to chat with your friend, if you think she might be receptive. Perhaps I can help her a bit with the training process. Email me and let me know if she'd be interested.

Oh, I can let you know right here - Lynne

[ In Reply To ..]
The lady was in her late 40s, suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and trying to save her livelihood. She did not like VR but gave up this field to go back inhouse for another type job.

I am sorry for both her medical condition - Snow Bunny

[ In Reply To ..]
and the fact that she gave up on Dragon so quickly. But, now that she's working inhouse she might not feel the pressure on her to keep up with her production and can start to play with it again.

I started using Dragon the first time about 7 or 8 years ago 'cause I was so bored with MT that I needed something to keep me working. I quit after about 3 months 'cause I couldn't get over 250 lph. I went bacxk back in November 2004 when I broke my right ring finger and had to be casted for a month. Can't type like that, and I couldn't afford to take time off from work.

A lot can happen as you get older in terms of your health, and I can certainly relate to what your friend is feeling. For me, Dragon has become a necessity.

So which would you recommend? - Alishia

[ In Reply To ..]
For someone just starting out with VR and the Dragon program, which software would you suggest for beginning? I am in-between jobs and feel this might be the best time for me to get up to speed with a new program that could improve my efficiency.

Thanks!

like calculating lines per hour - Snow Bunny

[ In Reply To ..]
there are many variables.

1. What type of MT are you doing? (acute care or clinic)
2. How many reports/letters do you have on your system, per specialty (megabytes)?

Email me so we can talk about this more in depth. It's not a subject I can answer in 20 sentences or less.

Are your characters/line visible? - PetLove

[ In Reply To ..]
Have just run the numbers shown by our system, and the VBC is being calculated at a 55-character line. Am thinking our supervisor could show this at our end, but has chosen not to for obvious reasons. Can any of you see your characters/line on your reports? Is there software that shows which characters are being counted or was this discovered by people counting it out?

As far as less pressure in-house, that's a myth I think people have. There's even more pressure in-house to produce. Right now it's that they bought the program and want us to show it was justified. :(

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