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Shields Health Care Group Selects Dictaphone's Speech Recognition Technology

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 09:01 CST

Shields Health Care Group, New England's premier independent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provider, has signed a three-year agreement to replace its existing speech recognition technology with Dictaphone's PowerScribe(R) for Radiology. Approximately 100 physicians at 25 imaging centers will use PowerScribe to dictate, self-complete recognized text and electronically sign reports. "Once and done" report control yields dramatically reduced report turnaround times and transcription costs.

Shields Health Care Group produces over 140,000 reports a year, which drove the organization several years ago to adopt speech recognition technology to maximize efficiency; PowerScribe is now replacing Agfa's TalkStation. "What we really wanted to do was have a partner relationship rather than a vendor relationship," explained Patricia Whelan, chief information officer of Shields Health Care Group and a noted expert on radiology informatics. "Dictaphone understands the need to devote resources to product development, so its technology continues to provide innovative solutions to the radiology issues of today and tomorrow."

According to Whelan, PowerScribe will help Shields Health Care Group change the way it communicates with referring physicians. "PowerScribe understands that we need to change the way radiology results are presented to our customers. Working together with PowerScribe, we will improve the accuracy, format, utility and appearance of radiology results. The paragraph-style book report format of today is not enhancing or expediting patient care. Creating a new standard for results reporting, leveraging natural language processing, will help us differentiate our product in a highly competitive market."

"As speech recognition continues to be embraced in healthcare, PowerScribe has emerged as the leader in both productivity and innovation," said Don Fallati, executive vice president of marketing for Dictaphone. "We look forward to our relationship with Shields Health Care Group, itself a ground-breaker when it comes to maximizing the potential of technology to assist in providing efficient, optimal care."

On February 8, 2006, Dictaphone announced that it had entered into an agreement to be acquired by Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN). The acquisition is expected to close by March 31, 2006, subject to customary conditions.

About Shields Health Care Group

Shields Health Care Group is an independent, New England-based medical imaging provider with a national reputation for blending exceptional customer service with superior technology. A family-owned and -operated business for over 25 years, Shields Health Care Group operates a network of 25 centers, providing the most advanced diagnostic imaging services. For more information about Shields Health Care Group, including its medical imaging locations and services, visit www.shields.com.

About Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group

Dictaphone is the world's largest supplier of dictation, transcription and speech recognition systems and services that simplify and enhance the production and management of paperless electronic patient information. Through the integration of speech recognition and natural language processing within existing health information management workflow, Dictaphone systems are helping healthcare organizations save money and improve patient care by increasing the speed, accuracy and usability of their medical documentation. For more information, please visit www.dictaphone.com or call 1-888-350-4836.

Source: Business Wire

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