We recently met with the lovely Jenny Ferreira, Senior Medical Secretary and Team Leader at Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust in Dorchester. Jenny is one of two members of staff who were asked to be G2 Super Users and to assist in the training of dictators and transcribers at the roll out of G2 Speech solution across the hospital back in 2012.The Trust has 3,000 staff that work in Dorset County Hospital and the outlying Community Hospitals. A large proportion of those are accessing the G2 Speech solution to create clinical documents every single day.
Before the solution was introduced at Dorset County Hospital, clinicians and secretaries were using analogue tapes which could have anything up to 60 minutes of recordings, with various patient notes, on each tape. Jenny told us how a lot of time could be wasted trawling through the tapes searching for particular letters, typing up the letters, having them approved and then circulated. All that has changed dramatically since the introduction of G2 MediSpeech at the hospital.
When the solution was first introduced at the hospital though, Jenny told us there was lots of anxiety: “Admin staff were very unsure about the introduction of the new software. They were worried about change, about using the new equipment but most of all they expressed concern about the impact it would have on their role as secretaries/administrators and the security of their jobs. All of that changed once the system was explained and they were fully trained and they realised how much easier this made their jobs. They absolutely love it now and we wouldn’t be without it. It’s not just the time factor of using G2 digital dictation from a secure data source but there is also a clear and traceable audit trail.”
Jenny continued: “There was no more searching through tapes and toing and froing with papers. G2 streamlined our workflow, made data more secure and high urgency documents can now be dealt with instantly. With the G2 solution we can get urgent letters typed and emailed, before the patient has even left the hospital!”
When speaking about the difference between the digital system and the analogue tapes Jenny said, “there is absolutely no comparison what-so-ever. It is amazing! The clarity, the speed, the efficiency and the simplicity of the process is a genuine aid in our role. I realise that working with analogue was like riding a tricycle in comparison to a racing bike.”
The hospital tackled the roll out of G2 Digital Dictation in programmed stages department by department. First off, the management teams were introduced to the software, then the secretaries and then the consultants (on a one-to-one basis). Training was simple and straight forward and to lessen the impact to the clinicians, training was carried out at their desks, when they had the time available. Jenny explained; “training took no longer than 30 minutes. It was a mission at first to get all of the training completed within the programmed timetable but within no time at all, all of the users were telling me how much they love the system.”
Speaking of the difference in turnaround times, Jenny explained how from creation to sign off, a document now takes just a few minutes; previously this would have taken days. The Trust has implemented a 24 hour turnaround time for correspondence and with the digital dictation solution provided by G2 Speech, this is not only achievable, it’s a reality.
Describing how staff are finding the hardware Jenny said; “we use Philips SpeechMikes with the bar code scanners. They are extremely easy to use and took no time at all for people to adapt to”.
Within the Dermatology Department alone, over 1300 documents have been created in two years. The Trust is currently undergoing an upgrade to MediSpeech 5.4. Jenny is excited by the new upgrade and how it will improve upon an already great system.
To anyone considering the implementation of a G2 Speech solution, Jenny said: “Don’t doubt it for a second – go for it. It’s the best move this Trust ever made. Grab it with both hands. Don’t be afraid of new technology which has proved to be a tremendous aid in our role as secretaries and administrators. The clinicians are also enthusiastic about the flexibility and ease of using G2. Yes there are ‘dinosaurs’ in any establishment but once they get into digital dictation they fly with it and never look back.”