Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Dragon Naturally Speaking and Microphone

Any suggestions on Dragon software. Is the current version much better, is medical version worth it, can I use it for myself on 5 networked computers (Ie install on all and dictate into AC). Second question, any suggestions on a nice microphone that I plan on having in each room to dictate into.

Any suggestions, experiences much appreciated. There is lots of older versions available online, and the medical is significantly more expensive. I'm not sure if medical words is worth it as I'll teach it myself.

Thanks.

There is a lot of discussion on this issue at emrupdate.com and the forum at knowbrainer.com. The latter is a resellor of DNS and also microphones. Lots of great reviews and discussion.

I am in a similar quandry. I have version 9.0 preferred and it is much less expensive. There is a problem with 10.0 as it turns off the microphone if the program is used in any EMR, including AC. They want us to buy 10.0 medical for over a thousand dollars more. My question is the same. I am not sure if 10.0 medical is worth it. $1500 vs $200 From what I gather, don't buy 10.0 preferred or professional without medical because they do not work in EMRs. Sleazy but true. Buy a 9.5 preferred and play with it. That is what I decided to do.

There are other threads on this very topic on this site and you might wish to search for those.

I use the preferred version 9.0/9.5 (9.0 is for XP, 9.5 for vista)and have been impressed with its medical vocabulary. Ver 10 will only work in an EMR with the Medical version. I don't see the value in the medical version yet another user likes the templating options. (I did buy ver 10 when it first came out yet have not installed it yet so I can't comment on how much better it may be. Dave Pogue of the New York Times thought it was about 10% better). Many of my colleagues have the Medical version, yet they aren't always paying for it themselves (they are employees). If you buy ver 9.5 find it from a reseller/liquidator and avoid ebay as the versions on ebay are often not legitimate. Be aware the box may say version 9.0 but you can download ver 9.5 if you need it for Vista. You will need one version for each machine unless you can get a site license. (I wonder if these would even be available for an old version). Obviously your cost then for 5 machines would be quite high. Personally I just dictate off of one machine (a laptop)

As for microphones I am not an expert yet I have good results with the one which comes with the program in the box. There are better ones out there yet I'm not certain if they are worth the cost. Good luck.

One possible option would be to stay with Ver. 9 but if you want to kick it up a notch, we have just put NaturallySpeaking Pro 9.5 on sale for $399 if that helps. It's considerably less expensive to purchase Pro 9 and then upgrade to the Pro to Medical 10 Upgrade additional $599 (total $998) or consider Dragon Medical 10 Small Practice Edition for $995 but note that the Small Practice Edition lacks radiology, pathology and can only be used by small practices; not hospitals.

We would've preferred that Nuance let the physicians make the choice rather than forcing their hands but if dictation is a major part of your livelihood, there's no question about the value of Ver. 10. There are about 30 improvements that you will find in our NaturallySpeaking 10 Review but for the purposes of this message, we will limit the discussion to just 2.

1. The 3 second Results Box time lag no longer exists. As soon as you stop dictating, your words will appear in your document. This is a major efficiency plus.

2. Most formatting issues have been resolved (including the spelling issue in the Ver. 10 SP1 release). No more extra space in front of punctuation when you correct, no more non-capitalization after punctuation and a number of other unfortunate time wasting events that have to be edited before you can save your patient chart.

Even if you blow off the manufacturer's hype about the higher accuracy, we still found Ver. 10 to be about 20% to 25% more efficient than Ver. 9. Accuracy is only part of the speech recognition equation. It's how fast you can get the job done that really matters. Accuracy, command capability, easier correction techniques (such a being able to apply Title Case and move the cursor back to where you were dictating) all make NaturallySpeaking 10 more efficient and although we realize this sounds like a commercial, we don't just talk the talk. We walk the walk (unlike the manufacturer). Our entire company runs off from Dragon Medical 10 and our work ranges from e-mail, dialing phone numbers, answering forum questions and shipping. If we had to do this work without NaturallySpeaking it simply wouldn't get finished. Just food for thought...

KnowBrainer Support Staff - Tom Hamilton
A Nuance Gold Certified/Endorsed Partner

I'm going to do with Dragon Small Practice Edition (available less than 995 online)

Any suggestions on usb microphones?

Essentially the Phillips SpeechMike 5272 and 5274 or the Power Mic?

My environment is single practice, 5 networked computers, so single user license and roaming user profile. I plan on dictating from any one of them, therefore need a mic in each room, and don't like a headset that I'd have to constantly take one and off.

As far as the Philips SpeechMics are concerned, it's a matter of taste (style) rather than accuracy as both microphones are identical other than aesthetics. However, the Dictaphone PowerMic II USB microphone is definitely a step up; especially for users of Dragon Medical 10 Small Practice Edition because you can even program Hotkeys to deploy personal macros and additional menu functions. The PowerMic II is also a little more accurate, noise canceling and rugged.

PS: You might be able to find the Small Practice Edition for a few dollars less online but you might also want to keep in mind what is included. Our customers receive virtual on-site technical support and training at no extra charge. Just food for thought...