Where Voice Technology Fits In Today's Metric-Driven Healthcare Industry

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www.VoiceFirstSolutions.com ©2013 VoiceFirst by Honeywell. All Rights Reserved. 412-206-1225 Forecasts for technology in healthcare continue to focus on EHR adoption, Clinical Decision Support and Security – all trends that garner top billing on CIOs “IT To‑Do” lists. But beyond these mega‑IT projects, progressive CIOs are also focusing on a technology trend that supports the most critical resource a healthcare system has – frontline clinicians. Investments in mobile, interactive voice technology for frontline clinical staff are on the rise. Beyond health system changes and requirements to deploy EHR systems, CIOs and CNIOs at the most progressive hospitals in the United States are investing in technology at the bedside. These information and informatics leaders recognize that accurate patient information, available at the point of care, improves patient‑centered care, outcomes and safety. Further, when investments in EHR deployment can be magnified and leveraged to deliver real-time patient data to all EHR‑connected teams, metrics from improved HCAHPS to declining error rates are impacted. Is It Time for Healthcare to “Cut the Cord” on Keyboards? In the same way the healthcare industry has witnessed the adoption of network‑enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, voice technology, now ubiquitous in the automotive, telecom and consumer electronics markets, has arrived in healthcare. Industry analysts believe that voice technology is still under‑utilized in healthcare, but will see increased adoption in 2014 and could be used pervasively by 2016. They estimate that significant ROI will come from the integration of speech with EMR – an area where adopters can point to increased efficiencies, savings and faster turnaround times 1,2 . This proven technology is impacting the front lines of patient care in top hospitals around the country. CLINICIAN-DESIGNED VOICE SOLUTIONS FOR PATIENT-FACING CARE REPLACE TETHERED DATA INPUT TOOLS AND BRING A CONVERSATION ABOUT CARE BACK TO THE BEDSIDE. 1: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/product‑spot‑ light‑speech‑recognition?page=1 2: http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/electron‑ ic‑medical‑records/speech‑recognition‑booms‑as‑ehr‑adop‑ tion/240149586 5 Key Healthcare Metrics CIOs Are Using to Size Up the Impact of Voice Solutions for Patient-Facing Care Smart, hands-free, mobile, voice solutions have arrived in the healthcare industry and progressive CIOs are taking the power of voice to the front lines of patient care. Surveys show that greater than 97% of patient-facing clinicians, nurses and doctors want to step away from the keyboard and leverage intelligent voice solutions to capture patient data in real time, at the point of care. Is your IT team ready to respond to the call for voice? Here are 5 healthcare metrics that may help you decide. HEALTHCARE CIOS ARE RAISING THE BAR ON 5 KEY HEALTHCARE METRICS BY LEVERAGING MOBILE, VOICE- DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AT THE PATIENT’S BEDSIDE. WHERE VOICE TECHNOLOGY FITS IN TODAY’S METRIC-DRIVEN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

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http://www.voicefirstsolutions.com/ Is it time for healthcare to "cut the cord" on keyboards? Smart, hands-free, mobile, voice solutions have arrived in the healthcare industry and progressive CIOs are taking the power of voice to the front lines of patient care. Surveys show that greater than 97% of patient-facing clinicians, nurses and doctors want to step away from the keyboard and leverage intelligent voice solutions to capture patient data in real time, at the point of care. Is your IT team ready to respond to the call for voice? Here are 5 healthcare metrics that may help you decide.

Transcript of Where Voice Technology Fits In Today's Metric-Driven Healthcare Industry

Page 1: Where Voice Technology Fits In Today's Metric-Driven Healthcare Industry

www.VoiceFirstSolutions.com©2013 VoiceFirst by Honeywell. All Rights Reserved. 412-206-1225

Forecasts for technology in healthcare

continue to focus on EHR adoption, Clinical

Decision Support and Security – all trends that

garner top billing on CIOs “IT To‑Do” lists. But

beyond these mega‑IT projects, progressive

CIOs are also focusing on a technology trend

that supports the most critical resource a

healthcare system has – frontline clinicians.

Investments in mobile, interactive voice technology for frontline clinical staff are on the rise.Beyond health system

changes and requirements to deploy

EHR systems, CIOs and CNIOs at the most

progressive hospitals in the United States are

investing in technology at the bedside. These

information and informatics leaders recognize

that accurate patient information, available at

the point of care, improves patient‑centered

care, outcomes and safety. Further, when

investments in EHR deployment can be

magnified and leveraged to deliver real-time

patient data to all EHR‑connected teams,

metrics from improved HCAHPS to declining

error rates are impacted.

Is It Time for Healthcare to “Cut the Cord” on Keyboards?

In the same way the healthcare industry has

witnessed the adoption of network‑enabled

mobile devices like smartphones and tablets,

voice technology, now ubiquitous in the

automotive, telecom and consumer electronics

markets, has arrived in healthcare. Industry

analysts believe that voice technology is

still under‑utilized in healthcare, but will see

increased adoption in 2014 and could be

used pervasively by 2016. They estimate that

significant ROI will come from the integration

of speech with EMR – an area where adopters

can point to increased efficiencies, savings

and faster turnaround times1,2. This proven

technology is impacting the front lines of

patient care in top hospitals around the

country.

CLINICIAN-DESIGNED VOICE SOLUTIONS FOR PATIENT-FACING CARE REPLACE TETHERED DATA INPUT TOOLS AND BRING A CONVERSATION ABOUT CARE BACK TO THE BEDSIDE.

1: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/product‑spot‑light‑speech‑recognition?page=12: http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/electron‑ic‑medical‑records/speech‑recognition‑booms‑as‑ehr‑adop‑tion/240149586

5 Key Healthcare Metrics CIOs Are Using to Size Up the Impact of Voice Solutions for Patient-Facing Care Smart, hands-free, mobile, voice solutions have arrived in the healthcare industry and progressive CIOs are taking the power of voice to the front lines of patient care. Surveys show that greater than 97% of patient-facing clinicians, nurses and doctors want to step away from the keyboard and leverage intelligent voice solutions to capture patient data in real time, at the point of care. Is your IT team ready to respond to the call for voice? Here are 5 healthcare metrics that may help you decide.

HEALTHCARE CIOS ARE RAISING THE

BAR ON 5 KEY HEALTHCARE METRICS

BY LEVERAGING MOBILE, VOICE-

DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AT THE PATIENT’S BEDSIDE.

WHERE VOICE TECHNOLOGY FITS IN TODAY’S METRIC-DRIVEN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

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Healthcare Industry Whitepaper | 2

©2013 VoiceFirst by Honeywell. All Rights Reserved. 412-206-1225 www.VoiceFirstSolutions.com

Voice solutions have moved beyond one-way dictation devices

that doctors have used in their offices to improve note taking

and transcribe patient data. Smart voice solutions are becoming

interactive, natural language solutions that overlay EMR systems

and allow clinicians, nurses and doctors to have two‑way

conversations with record management systems and the patient.

5 Ways Mobile, Hands-Free Voice Solutions Impact the Front Lines of Patient Care

Improved HCAHPS Scores (CAHPS® Hospital Survey, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)

By 2015, healthcare providers participating in accountable

care organizations will have to provide evidence that the care

they’ve delivered produced value for the patient – as reported

by the patient. Improving and maintaining patient satisfaction

with physician and clinician services is paramount. Healthcare

facilities’ HCAHPS scores directly impact their reimbursements

and are already being used by consumers to evaluate and rank

healthcare providers and facilities.

RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THE AMOUNT OF FACE-TO-FACE TIME A CLINICIAN SPENDS WITH A PATIENT MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN DETERMINING PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES PROVIDED.

Increased clinician time with patients, particularly time spent

having direct eye contact, has been shown to increase a patient’s

overall satisfaction with care and the outcome of care. Moreover,

research from the New England Medical Center and the University

of California at Davis confirm that patient satisfaction increases

with the amount of face‑to‑face time with clinicians. These

studies indicate that patient satisfaction increases directly impact

patient outcome (another key metric we’ll discuss) as well as a

patient’s participation in the decision‑making process for their

care.

CIOs deploying mobile, hands‑free EMR voice overlay technology

are helping patient‑facing clinicians “cut the cord” to computer

screens, keyboards and workstations on wheels that distract from

hands‑on patient care.

Intelligent voice‑enabled EMR interaction increases hands‑on

nursing time. Patients report greater satisfaction with their

overall care and are more involved with their care. Advances

in EMR voice‑overlay technology allow clinicians to have an

actual conversation with the EMR without looking away from

the patient to consult charts and without interrupting care to

type on keyboards. Custom care protocols and workflows guide

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clinicians through procedures using natural language interaction,

and patient data is updated in the EMR in real time – all through

voice‑driven interactions.

Leveraging hands‑free, voice‑powered patient record

management, clinicians shift their focus from the tablet,

computer screen and keyboard to the patient and have a direct,

measureable impact on patient satisfaction and care outcomes.

Reduced Post-Shift Charting Overages and Errors

Clinicians talk with their patients to make the most accurate

assessments at the point of care. Whether the assessment is

in the emergency room, at the patient’s bedside or during a

physical therapy evaluation, frontline clinicians depend on verbal

communication to “get it right.” Now clinicians can harness the

power of natural conversation to directly interact with their EMR

systems. No more post‑visit or end‑of‑shift record management

– the patient’s record is accurate at the point of care and the

clinician, nurse and doctor are freed from dictation devices,

keyboards and transcription.

Using wireless mobile device technology, clinicians can now

access their EMR systems, update records and retrieve patient

information with the power of their voice. The EMR system can

also respond via voice, creating a seamless, patient‑centered

conversation where and when it is most valuable, at the point of

care.

Voice-enabled real-time charting reduces errors and delays

in patient record management and reduces the overall cost

of patient care. Post‑shift charting overages contribute to

increased care costs, but they also negatively impact clinician

job satisfaction. The adoption of voice solutions at the patient’s

bedside reduces clinician fatigue and increases overall clinician

satisfaction in the workplace.

With an intelligent EMR voice overlay solution, clinicians

can have a conversation with their EMR system ensuring

a higher quality of patient care, reduced patient record

errors and clinical documentation improvement (CDI).

These measurable efficiencies have immediate impacts on

patient outcome, quality of care delivery and a hospital’s

bottom line.

Improved Patient Outcomes and Improved Clinical Documentation

Healthcare teams know that increased hands‑on time with

patients is critical to impacting patient outcomes and quality care

delivery. What better way to improve patient care than by having

patient‑facing clinicians spend more time with the patient and

less time charting and manually updating EMR data?

Increased time with patients translates to improved patient outcomes and patient satisfaction.

A recent Johns Hopkins study indicated that clinicians are

spending less time interacting with patients and more time

on indirect patient care – interacting with electronic records

management tools and conducting patient research.

Indirect Patient Care

Direct Patient Care

Miscellaneous Activities (walking)

Educational Actvities (Medical Rounds)

All information and data courtesy of Johns Hopkins. Presentation by PhysBizTech.

Thought leaders in healthcare indicate that patient care

outcomes and overall patient satisfaction can be improved by

increasing time spent on direct patient care.3,4 As noted earlier,

eye contact with patients is shown to improve care satisfaction

and confidence in care provided. Leveraging hands-free, voice-

powered patient record management, clinicians can shift their

focus from the tablet, computer screen and keyboard to the

patient.

VOICE-POWERED EMR WORKFLOWS SPEED PATIENT DATA ENTRY, A KEY COMPONENT OF PERFORMANCE REPORTING.

Patient‑reported outcome measures (PROMs) are a critical

component of assessing whether clinicians are improving the

health of patients. Patient‑reported measures are expected to

play a more prominent role in assessing hospital and clinician

3: http://www.avaya.com/uk/resource/assets/casestudies/sonora%20uc4585.pdf4: http://www.medicalpracticeinsider.com/news/business/docs‑be‑spending‑less‑time‑bedside‑patients?goback=%252Egde_93115_member_244753540

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performance and determining the comparative effectiveness of

different treatments, in part because of a growing emphasis on

patient‑centered care and value‑based payment approaches.

Voice can play a critical role in a patient’s perceived level and

value of care as clinicians are able to focus more attention on

real‑time patient response to treatment and comparatively

less time on manual patient care documentation – which often

occurs following patient evaluations.

Increased Collaboration and Coordination of Care

Healthcare system reform has placed a premium on

coordinating evidence‑based care both inside and outside

the hospital. Coordinated patient care now extends beyond

the bedside. CIOs leveraging mobile technology solutions are

leading the charge to deliver real‑time patient data across the

continuum of care. Truly mobile, voice‑enabled solutions allow

the EMR system to move at the pace of the clinician and provide

real‑time patient data to a broader community of care‑givers

across a variety of settings. Patient outcomes improve and

re‑admittance rates fall when clinicians can provide up‑to‑the‑

minute patient data to collaborating, EHR‑connected teams.

Handheld smart devices and BYOD are ushering in a more connected and interactive healthcare industry.

The healthcare industry has seen a significant rise in use of

handheld devices. BYOD has become another project that IT

teams are being asked to prioritize. While networked smart

devices allow clinicians and doctors to communicate in a more

connected fashion, networked EMRs that contain dynamically

updated patient information promote secure interdisciplinary

collaboration that directly impacts patient care.

Healthcare leaders are adding intelligent voice overlay

technology to their EMR systems and are bringing true

communication back to the bedside. Voice technology is allowing

the EMR system to evolve from a vault of patient information to

a value-added partner on the front lines of patient care. Better

still, this evolved communication is speeding access to real‑time

patient data, influencing decision support and changing the face

of healthcare collaboration with the power of smart, effective,

two‑way voice interaction where it has the most impact, on the

front lines of patient care.

EMR Investments Are Leveraged Beyond the Back Office

For most hospital systems, the transition to electronic medical

records has been the single most significant technology change

impacting nearly every hospital department, employee and

patient. The emerging role of bedside and patient‑facing

technology is taking many hospital systems by storm. Balancing

the capital cost of new technology with the potential gains in care

administration efficiency puts healthcare leaders squarely in the

middle of the technology investment “see‑saw.”

Once EMR investments are made, what keeps hospitals from

reaping the full potential that is possible? Study after study

confirms what CIOs already know – a successful EMR deployment

depends on frontline nursing and clinical staff adoption. Beyond

EMR adoption, innovative IT teams are leveraging EMR voice

overlay technology to seamlessly embed the EMR in patient care

protocols and workflows, right at the point of care. These leaders

understand that nurses and clinicians do not want to be tethered

to EMR input devices that slow or delay hands‑on patient care.

Through voice‑driven overlay technology, IT teams are moving

the EMR from the sidelines to the front lines of patient care.

SEAMLESS, HANDS-FREE VOICE TECHNOLOGY HAS THE POWER TO MOBILIZE THE CLINICIAN AND THE EMR SYSTEM. THE EMR WILL NOW MOVE AT THE PACE OF THE CLINICAL STAFF.

Interactive voice technology lets patient‑facing clinicians

mobilize the EMR system to make rounds, follow patient activity

and have meaningful, data‑driven conversations by sending and

retrieving patient data, in real time, directly at the point of care,

all with the power of voice.

Empowering clinicians to use conversational speech to navigate,

research and update patient records frees them from keyboard‑

based data entry and improves efficiency of care and accuracy of

documentation. Speed and accuracy of patient data management

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are of paramount importance and impact

both patient outcome and patient overall

satisfaction with their care delivery.

Surveyed clinicians who used voice‑driven

tools in frontline patient care overwhelmingly

agreed (79%) that they are comfortable using

voice technology during patient interaction,

with the majority agreeing that voice‑driven

tools save time, reduced error rates and

improve patient outcomes.

Voice Impacts on Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI)Voice-driven EMR overlay technology is

at the forefront of clinical documentation

improvement (CDI) providing a real‑time, direct

link from the patient‑facing reporting clinician

to the EMR system. According to healthcare

researchers, “The key to effective coding and

reimbursement starts with complete and

relevant documentation, and that relies on

high‑quality, accessible EMRs.”5

Voice overlay for EMRs puts full voice

communication with the EMR at the point of

clinical care, on the frontlines – no delays in

patient records updates, no risk of transcription

error. Clinician-specific and procedure-specific

workflows ensure that the data required

to administer and report on patient care is

available at the point of care.

Voice overlay solutions seamlessly integrate

with the EMR system and leverage proven

mobile device and Bluetooth® technology to

significantly scale current EMR efficiency gains.

5: “Transition to ICD‑10 codes will be disruptive, but CIOs can help,” by Don Fluckinger, features writer; published 11 July 2011, HealthIT

A Word On Privacy and SecurityHealthcare teams need to balance

technology, patient care and emerging

privacy, compliance and security protocols.

Voice overlay technology is completely

secure with password‑required sign‑on,

ensuring patient data is always private.

Technology is driving the healthcare

industry at a new pace, and mobile, voice‑

driven, patient‑centered solutions will

continue to deliver a greater share of value in

2014. Intelligent EMR voice overlay solutions

allow clinicians to “cut the cord” on tethered

EMR data entry so that the patient becomes

the center of attention, not the technology.

=================================

About the AuthorMaureen Ladouceur is the vice president of

Clinical Solutions for VoiceFirst. Maureen

is responsible for the delivery of clinical

consultative services, account management,

marketing and sales initiatives for Vocollect

Healthcare Systems. As part of her role, she

brings clinical consultative experience in

healthcare, national account strategies and

strategic product management expertise. As

an RN, she blends clinical knowledge with

technological initiatives to help customers

achieve their goals in areas of both quality

and productivity through automation.

Maureen holds an MBA in healthcare finance

and administration from Pennsylvania

State University, a BSN from the University

of Pittsburgh and a certificate in business

strategy from Cornell University.