What is digital dictation? | Uses and benefits

These days, most of us type at a pretty rapid pace, which is often vital in a professional environment. But with a digital dictation platform, you can skip the typing altogether.

What is digital dictation? It’s the process of converting spoken words into text, using tech that gets more accurate and efficient every year.

In today’s blog, we’ll be breaking down all the basics of digital dictation, including the benefits they can have for your business, and the handiest features available.

What is digital dictation?: an introduction

Digital dictation uses increasingly sophisticated software to automatically transcribe your spoken words into text. All you have to do is speak into a microphone or other recording device, and watch your words appear in full sentences on your screen. This means that, even if you need to make edits to the transcription, you’ll still be saving far more time than if you were typing.

The benefits of digital dictation for businesses

Digital dictation can have a whole host of benefits for businesses. First and foremost, it’s efficient. Even if you’re only using digital dictation for specific tasks, it will quickly become apparent just how much time you’re saving compared to if you were typing. It’s also worth bearing in mind that this kind of software has come a long way in recent years. It’s far more accurate, for one thing. Even for healthcare professionals, there are platforms like Nuance’s Dragon Medical One (DMO) which have been trained specifically to understand medical jargon. It’s something to bear in mind if you’d been holding off on using digital dictation because you were wary of accuracy.

Modern digital dictation platforms are based in the cloud, which allows seamless, real-time collaboration between hybrid or remote teams. Cloud-based digital dictation can also be easily scaled up or scaled down. In today’s fluctuating business landscape, that’s increasingly vital.

That leads into another advantage of cloud-based dictation platforms: security. Robust measures will be in place to protect your data. These include multi-factor authentication, encryption, and backups. The confidentiality of sensitive dictation files will be preserved.

What is digital dictation?: features

All modern platforms tend to offer a range of features that enhance the dictation process, and streamline your daily operations. Just a few of those features include…

• Audio recording. While the main appeal of this software is to have your words automatically transcribed, you can also record audio files with various devices, including your own smartphone. Most platforms will allow you to adjust the recording quality, as well as other settings.
• File management. The tools available for managing your dictation files are extensive, and include file metadata, which will allow you to easily retrieve and reference certain files.
• Seamless integration with other tools. Up to date dictation platforms can be used with an assortment of other applications, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

What is digital dictation?: choosing the right platform

Choosing the right digital dictation platform for your business can greatly impact your workflow efficiency and productivity. With the recent advancements in this tech, there are various platforms available in the market to suit different needs, and different industries. Here’s what we’d recommend…

• As with most platforms, Philips SpeechLive can be used in various industries, but it’s most suited for professionals in fields like legal, surveying, and corporate.
• Dragon Medical One is designed specifically for those in the medical profession. Its highly accurate speech recognition capabilities make it compatible with even the most specialised jargon.
• WinVoiceWeb, created by Voice Technologies in collaboration with the NHS in the UK, is compatible with DMO. WinVoiceWeb is a web-based document creation and distribution app, meaning it can be accessed from any browser within your network and benefits from its own built-in text editor.

Conclusion: what is digital dictation?

So… what is digital dictation? It’s tech that offers businesses an efficient and accurate way to convert spoken words into text, saving time and improving productivity. Cloud-based platforms provide real-time collaboration, scalability, and robust security measures. Philips SpeechLive is suited for legal and corporate fields. Dragon Medical One is ideal for medical professionals and with the addition of WinVoiceWeb, document creation and distribution can be streamlined.

We help organisations reduce the time and cost of producing correspondence via information workflow apps, speech recognition software, and digital dictation hardware & software. If you think we could help your business, book a consultation today.