John Turano, DPM

Partner

Eastside Podiatry, LLP

Penfield, NY

"My partner and I were having a hard time with transcription turnaround times," says podiatrist Dr. John Turano, explaining why his practice decided to switch to speech recognition software back in 2004. But it wasn't just the delay in getting notes into patient charts that was their only complaint – they were spending around $750 a month for that delay.

"Now, there's no downtime," he says, after having used the program for nearly two years. The turnaround time equates to the number of seconds it takes to hit the print button on your computer, he says.

Yet Dr. Turano does not claim to be a speech recognition expert. Far from it, in fact. "I know I only use 20% of the program," he says, and yet that 20% has significantly improved how his practice operates.

Not only has the use of Dragon Speech Recognition software cut down on the lag time between dictating and filing notes in the office, it has also reduced the number of phone calls required to track down patient information, or to call patients back when they inquire about a diagnosis, says Dr. Turano.

But keeping documents in-house provides another benefit – reduced concerns about HIPAA compliance regarding transportation of documents. Having mistakenly received other patient's notes from transcription services, Dr. Turano knows it is an issue. But generating notes in-house virtually eliminates that risk.

Interview by Marcia Layton Turner, Layton & Co.