Quality-of-service improvements from coupling a digital chest unit with integrated speech recognition, information, and picture archiving and communications systems.

Speech recognition reporting for chest examinations was introduced and tightly integrated with a Radiology Information System (RIS) and a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). A feature of this integration was the unique one-to-one coupling of the workstation displayed case and the reporting via speech recognition for that and only that particular examination and patient. The utility of the resulting, wholly integrated electronic environment was then compared with that of the previous analog chest unit and dedicated wet processor, with reporting of hard copy examinations by direct dictation to a typist. Improvements in quality of service in comparison to the previous work environment include (1) immediate release of the patient, (2) decreased rate of repeat radiographs, (3) improved image quality, (4) decreased time for the examination to be available for interpretation, (5) automatic hanging of current and previous images, (6) ad-hoc availability of images, (7) capability of the radiologist to immediately review and correct the transcribed report, (8) decreased time for clinicians to view results, and (9) increased capacity of examinations per room.