Current State of Voice Recognition Charting

Voice recognition technology is improving and being used for things such as text messaging or other commands on mobile devices ("Siri.", n.d.) or VoceraTM communication devices ("Voice communication", n.d.). Presently, voice recognition technology has been found to be useful within the healthcare industry, but on a limited basis. It has been effective at helping physicians create electronic medical records. "Today, tens of thousands of clinicians use voice recognition to dictate findings into electronic records - far more than those documenting findings via typing or mouse-clicks" ("Speech recognition", 2008). Further application in health care settings is an important emerging technology. This paper is an examination of evidence in the literature related to voice (or speech) recognition charting for inpatient populations as an effective method of documentation.