Al Campagna and his colleagues at Greater Rochester Orthopaedics had heard about Dragon Naturally Speaking software from colleagues, in discussions with other practice managers, and at conferences, but it wasn't until the group's annual transcription costs topped $100,000 that they decided to add it to their own operations.

In 2005, Greater Rochester Orthopaedics set several business goals, the first of which was to significantly reduce – if not eliminate – the professional cost of transcription, which went beyond the $100,000 bill and included the supporting labor cost. Other goals included increasing internal operating efficiencies, improving client service, and expediting the authorization process for diagnosis and treatment, all of which would be impacted by the new speech recognition software if it worked as they hoped it would.

Nine people in the practice were scheduled to be trained, starting in October 2005, with the two doctors who were the most enthusiastic about the software's prospects as the lead trainees. Within a few weeks, once they were comfortable with the program, two more practice members were trained, then two more - each pair staggered a couple of months after the previous two. In total, it took six months for all nine professionals to be trained.

In that time, the transcription cost dropped from its $100,000 pace to $6,000. In addition to reducing the office's reliance on outside transcription, the Dragon software has also changed the operating process within the office, reports Campagna, because there is far less paper to contend with.

But Campagna and his crew aren't resting on their laurels. "We're still looking for ways we can evolve," he says. "At a recent meeting, we talked about forming a working group to come up with new applications and share techniques."

Interview by
Marcia Layton Turner,
Layton & Co.