In healthcare, new technology always seems to be promising a faster, smarter, better way of working. Solutions claim they’ll save you time and remove your stress, all while improving outcomes for patients and making their journeys more seamless. But those promises all need to be balanced against a simple, more pragmatic reality: budgets are always limited in the healthcare ‘business’.
Recently, the business of healthcare has been in the spotlight. With rising costs and widespread strikes for NHS workers with more on the horizon, there’s more pressure than ever to spend money effectively. Crucially, this doesn’t mean ceasing all spending. It means targeting your budget where the impact – on healthcare professionals, patients, and outcomes – will be biggest and where the value will be most effective.
With the NHS in crisis, now is the time for change: from overworked professionals burdened by manual reporting to a more agile, flexible way of working. And that transformation doesn’t have to mean huge investment, changes to your IT infrastructure, or expensive training.
The demands on healthcare have intensified
Waiting lists are increasing, hospital bed capacities are shrinking and, according to data from the British Medical Association, the average GP is responsible for 17% more patients on average compared to 2015. Accelerated by the pandemic, the healthcare needs of the UK have dramatically shifted in the past few years. It’s only natural, then, that the way healthcare professionals work needs to shift too.
However, healthcare in general is reluctant to invest in new technology. In a recent study by BT, 49% of NHS staff said the standard of technology at work was a source of stress. But while 29% strongly agree that innovation is hamstrung by a lack of funding, 37% identified cultural resistance to change as a significant barrier.
With this in mind, understanding the true value of new technology is key. The only way to overcome cultural resistance is with an objective approach – one that pits costs and price against value, reconciling the expense of a given technology with the impact on staff and patients.
Measuring the price and cost of AI-enhanced speech recognition
The healthcare industry has generally been willing to invest in AI, but Deloitte identifies the need to measure return on investment as key to continued transformation. AI-enhanced speech/voice recognition (instant digital transcription) gives users a faster, more flexible way to report and capture notes, including direct dictation into existing clinical workflows and applications. This has the potential to deliver a measurable return by saving a considerable amount of time and empowering staff to work efficiently – without compromising accuracy.
Augnito Spectra, our clinical speech recognition software, costs £576 (including VAT) per user, per year. With an average of 260 working days, that’s just £2.22 per day. Given that Augnito Spectra saves on average one hour a day – an hour that brings with it an implied cost – that’s a considerable return on investment. At the same time, Augnito has a positive impact on overworked users, improving not only performance and effectiveness but engagement, and retention. Compared to the costs of missed days due to stress or, worse, having to find someone new when people reach their limit and leave healthcare, Augnito is a significant saving.
For a few pounds per day, Trusts can empower their clinical professionals to work at their best. And that ultimately enables better healthcare outcomes for clinicians and medical staff and for patients – the most valuable output of all.
A speech recognition solution designed to create value
£2.22 per user, per day. That’s less than a pack of Nurofen (and other brands) to fend off the headache of slow, time-consuming reporting. It’s even less than a box of plasters to patch over the workload problem until people leave the healthcare sector.
Augnito Spectra also goes further to create value for your clinical staff and organisation. Designed to go wherever your people do, it includes:
• Mobile speech recognition on iOS or Android devices
• Seamless cloud-based notes, available on any device
• MacOS, Windows and web browser access
• Support for remote workers and sharing reports with different clinical systems
Learn more about Augnito
See how Augnito Spectra is already delivering transformational benefits – and measurable value – for medical professionals across the UK. Request a demo to try Augnito Spectra for 7 days and see the benefits for yourself.