MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), New York, recently purchased and installed MedQuist's (Pink Sheets: MEDQ.PK) SpeechQ for Radiology (TM) speech recognition software, as part of a two-year plan to upgrade their radiology information systems to provide superior service to their patients and referring physicians.
According to Dr. David Hirschorn, the hospital's director of radiology informatics and a practicing radiologist, "Our goal was to improve the radiology department's efficiency and quality. SpeechQ for Radiology(TM) has drastically cut our report turnaround time so patients and their physicians have much faster access to their radiology procedure results, often within minutes after the exam is complete.
"Since most reports are created, reviewed and electronically signed in a single step, without the need for a transcriptionist, the radiologist can even authenticate - or electronically sign -- the report while the image is still displayed on their PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) monitor," Hirschorn adds. "The system gives radiologists more confidence in the accuracy of their reports."
SpeechQ for Radiology(TM) has a number of features that help the radiologist quickly and accurately complete a patient's medical report. For many users, a quick two-minute voice enrollment process is all that is needed to begin using the system. Once they use it, the system gives the physician full control of his or her workflow. He or she can decide at anytime while dictating or editing a report to save it and complete it at a later time, electronically sign the report or send it to a medical editor for review. The medical editor then listens to synchronized audio and text to speed the editing process. This flexibility allows the radiologist to control the report creation method, as well the ability to change the workflow, even in the middle of dictation.
"Before implementing SpeechQ for Radiology(TM), SIUH employed seven transcriptionists and report turnaround time was counted in days," says Christopher Spring, product manager for MedQuist. "After using the system for six months, SIUH now only requires two editors and reports are available in just minutes to hours."
MedQuist Inc., a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leading provider of electronic medical transcription, health information and document management products and services. MedQuist provides document workflow management, digital dictation, speech recognition, mobile dictation devices, Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding products and outsourcing services.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding MedQuist's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward- looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2002.
MedQuist Inc.CONTACT: Leeann Essai, Director, Marketing Communications, MedQuist,+1-800-233-3030, lessai@medquist.com
Web site: http://www.medquist.com/