Search on the Apple App Store or Google Play for dictation apps and there are plenty to choose from. Most will mimic the professional handheld dictaphones allowing audio to be recorded while stopping/starting and rewinding to hear what was last said and then continue before completing an audio file. This is great and gives the users complete freedom to dictate both at the office on more traditional hand held dictation machines and also while away from the office perhaps visiting court or attending to hospital/clinic appointments.
Users are demanding a more agile workplace, mobile is huge part of that and empowering users to work while mobile will improve their productivity.
If you are a practice manager (medical) or office manager (legal) looking after busy, usually non-technical doctors and lawyers how do you choose an app that can be easily maintained, configured with minimal user effort and most importantly secure?
These are the questions you should be asking of your app:
- What audio format do you support and does that format fit with my existing transcription structure?
- Is the audio securely transmitted, i.e. can my confidential audio be encrypted? Simply sending unencrypted audio via FTP is not secure.
- My users will dictate all hours of the day, what guarantees do I get that the cloud infrastructure used to support mobile dictation has a high availability uptime?
- I have potentially many mobile users, most of them are not technical, how easy can I make it for them to configure their smartphones to use the mobile dictation service?
- Does the app support Apple iOS and Google Android?
Here are some tips on what you should be looking for:
Easy To Configure
Whether you look after one or one hundred dictation users being able to direct your users to configure your smartphone dictation app should be as simple as possible. The last think you need is many phone calls and having to and hold frustrated users through complex settings. The key to this is a centralised administration portal so that office and practice managers can do the heavy lifting for the users, allowing the manager to set the standards for audio record formats, encryption passwords, and delivery mechanisms (email or FTP) for individuals leaving the end users with the minimum of data to enter to connect their smartphone to their dictation system.
Integrates Seamlessly With Existing Dictation/Transcription Office Setup
From a workflow perspective transcription typists and teams also should have minimal impact when introducing mobile dictation. Look for an app that can record in the audio formats they already receive, this is typically the .ds2 or older .dss audio formats used by the majority of the professional dictation manufacturers Olympus, Grundig and Phillips. When audio arrives it is imperative that existing users can be easily identified, usually by Author ID. Priority of dictation is also a key feature that should be looked for.
Secure
This is probably THE most important point. When you start to use mobile dictation for confidential client or patient notes the audio must be secured when sending across the internet. One of the easiest ways to do this is with the pro dictation audio format .ds2 which has the ability to be encrypted. A password is used to encrypt the audio and only the relevant software used by transcription typists who know the password can decrypt the audio. Meaning is audio is sniffed as it travels across the internet it will not be able to be played ensure confidentiality and security. We are all hearing about cybercrime regularly in the news these days, packet sniffing is a common methods of hackers to intercept data which is why encryption is key.
Proven Support & 24/7 Availability
Mobile dictation is required 24/7 so a proven backbone infrastructure to support audio file transmission from around the globe is key. Don’t rely on a small company to handle such important audio data. High availability uptime for cloud services responsible for audio file transmission is critical.
Introducing the Olympus ODDS (Olympus Dictation Delivery Service) app for iPhone and Android ticks all of the above boxes. Recording on the device in .ds2 with encryption with the ability to securely send via email or FTP. Practice and Office Managers has a single Olympus web portal from which to manage all the licences for their business from configuration per user to requesting new licences to renewing licences when they expire. Whether you manage one or 100 users the Olympus web portal simplifies licence configuration and management for office managers.
Keep it simple for end users. Once a smartphone licence has been configured in the portal end users only need enter four fields in their smartphone app:
- Your business name (this field is the same for all users)
- Your business smartphone password, set by the office/practice manager (this field is the same for all users)
- Uniquely identify the user in your organisation by their email address (unique for each user)
- The users Author ID, how the audio will be recognised by the typists when received
The Olympus Dictation App can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Only when linked with an Olympus ODDS Licence do the security and simple configuration options for the end user become available. The licence is a subscription model and each licence lasts for 12 months. When the licence is coming up for expiry you have the option to renew for another year or just let the licence lapse.
TRY THE OLYMPUS DIGITAL DICTATION APP NOW FOR 60 DAYS FOR FREE – AS MANY LICENCES AS YOU NEED
At Dictate Australia we are leaders in the app configuration and deployment and already count over 90 businesses from single dictation users to companies with 60+ users from all over the world under our management. Let us help you mobilise your dictation workforce by setting up a free trial lasting 60 days with full use and access to the Olympus ODDS system with unlimited dictation during that time. We will:
- Give you access to the Olympus ODDS dictation portal – https://www.dictation-portal.com
- Guide you through every step of the configuration of the smartphone licences, whether you configure one or 100
- Support you through the 60 day trial with any questions, support and trouble shooting
- Help you transition from trial licences you standard licences should you wish to continue on after the trial
- Give you full instructions on how to integrate the audio from the Olympus ODDS dictation app with your Olympus ODMS transcription software for automated receive and load of mobile dictation files.
Click here to read more about Olympus ODDS on the Olympus Australia website
To Start You FREE Trial simply complete the form below. Don’t worry we won’t hound you with emails or marketing, this is just so we can prepare the Olympus web portal for you and send you the relevant documentation on how to use and administer the system: