SIIM 2008 - MedQuist Inc. has recently developed and released an enhanced integration capability between its SpeechQ for RadiologyTM interactive speech recognition solution and various medical imaging Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS).

MedQuist Inc. has recently developed and released an enhanced integration capability between its SpeechQ for Radiology^TM interactive speech recognition solution and various medical imaging Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS). This integration allows radiologists to move seamlessly between the two applications and significantly improve their productivity. The first PACS solution to take advantage of this robust integration is Philips iSite^TM.

With this integration enhancement, radiologists can quickly create a diagnostic report of their findings and provide this information to patients' physicians and caregivers. Among the dynamic actions possible via the new SpeechQ-PACS integration are:

- Enhanced bidirectional ability, allowing PACS to control SpeechQ, and SpeechQ to control PACS.

- Implementation of true bidirectional messaging from PACS to SpeechQ, and SpeechQ to PACS.

- Implementation of true bidirectional communication of status and state from PACS to SpeechQ, and SpeechQ to PACS.

- Streamlined login and logout for the radiologists, improving workflow and time efficiency.

- Improved workflow for the radiologists for report creation, via application synchronization features that reduce the number of "clicks" the physician must go through to perform work.

"We have included this enhanced integration tool in our most recent Software Development Kit (SDK)," says Katheryn "Katie" McMahon, MedQuist product manager for speech recognition and integration. "Philips iSite is the first to fully implement the integration, but this SDK is available for all PACS vendors, and we expect that many other companies will want to take advantage of the new features that it provides."

One of the first customers using the new integration software is Inland Imaging LLC of Spokane, Wash. According to Jason Koller, director of Imagecast and SpeechQ at Inland Imaging, "Our radiologists really like the ability to open an image from SpeechQ. Many of them are attending physicians, and when they are working with a resident or fellow, it is easier for them to work from their report queue and then open the images. In the past, they were opening the report and then searching the PACS for the correct image(s). Now, they simply click one button on the SpeechQ screen, and any images associated with the report are immediately displayed on the PACS monitor. This is a major time savings, and ensures that all of the patient's related images are displayed."

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