Longwoods Blog
Vol. 8 No. 21, October 12, 2011
Fact and Stats
Breast imaging reports generated using speech recognition were eight times as likely as reports dictated with conventional transcription to contain major errors, according to a study published in the October issue of American Journal of Roentgenology. The researchers estimated that nearly 25% of the reports in the study contained a major error that could have affected understanding of the report or altered patient care. Automated speech recognition (ASR) is associated with multiple advantages: reduced report production time and cost savings compared with conventional dictation. Previous studies, however, have suggested that ASR-generated reports are plagued by a high error rate.
Sarah Basma, of the research and development division at Mount Sinai Hospital, Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and colleagues sought to determine the frequency and spectrum of dictation errors in breast imaging reports generated with ASR compared with conventional transcription.
The research team reviewed 615 breast imaging reports discussed at multidisciplinary tumor boards from January 2009 to April 2010; 308 were generated with ASR and 307 with conventional transcription. Modalities in the reports included mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, interventional procedures and x-ray. Most studies were diagnostic exams and of higher complexity than screening studies, the authors wrote.
The researchers categorized errors as major if they affected understanding of the report or patient care. Among the 308 reports generated with ASR, 52 percent contained at least one error. The corresponding rate among conventional reports was 22 percent. Basma and colleagues reported that major errors were more common in MRI and combined mammography and ultrasound reports.
Source: Error Rates in Breast Imaging Reports: Comparison of Automatic Speech Recognition and Dictation Transcription
Date: October, 2011
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at 10:27 am and is filed under Longwoods Online.