Illinois Radiologists Self-Edit Reports, Reduce Turnaround Time with SpeechQ for Rad...( MOUNT LAUREL N.J. March 19 /- Pro...),Health

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Provena Mercy Medical Center, a 356-bed community-based hospital in Aurora, Illinois, has achieved new levels of efficiency and physician satisfaction using SpeechQ for Radiology(TM), the award-winning front-end interactive speech recognition solution from MedQuist (Pink Sheets: MEDQ). Radiologists in Provena Mercy's Imaging department are self-editing 90 percent of their reports, and report turnaround time (TAT) has been reduced by more than half since the implementation of SpeechQ.

The Imaging department at Provena Mercy performed more than 80,000 exams in 2007. In the past, all reports were dictated and then outsourced to a transcription company. Once transcribed, these reports were then returned to the appropriate radiologist for review and signature. With SpeechQ, average report turnaround time has been reduced from 61/2 hours to 3 hours, and TAT for STAT and ED reports is now five minutes.

Dr. James Studlo, medical director of Imaging Services and chief of the medical staff at Provena Mercy, comments, "When using a traditional dictation system, I often had to rewind and listen to what I had said to confirm that my conclusion was complete. With SpeechQ, it is much easier and faster for me to read what I have dictated and to sign off on a report while the images are displayed." The ED physicians and medical staff at Provena Mercy also appreciate receiving a typed, legible final report within minutes after their patients have had an imaging procedure.

David Angel, administrative director of Medical Imaging and Laboratory Services, adds, "Our success is measured by providing high-quality diagnostic reports to our referring physicians and their patients in a cost-effective and timely manner. Many of the hospital's medical staff have commented on the improved reporting from the Radiology department, and both the imaging staff and the radiologists have noticed a decrease in the amount
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