Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) 6, Medical Solutions

Nurse Author & Editor, Summer 2003 by Johnson, Suzanne Hall

Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) 6, Medical Solutions. ScanSoft(R) Inc., 9 Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA. 800-443-7077, www.ScanSoft.com/Naturally Speaking.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) is a speech recognition software program that can help you write manuscripts and other written material. You can dictate into many different programs including several e-mail, Web browser, word processor, and "virtually all" Windows-based programs. The Medical Solutions edition even recognizes medical words.

Although you should first train the program to your voice by reading supplied text, it also learns as you work. It even learned as I dictated this review. Fortunately a "correct that" command selects a problem phrase or word, so you can say or type in the change. I found it confusing to watch the text scroll on screen after I said a phrase, but you can also leave errors and correct them later after you finish the draft.

You can also dictate commands. For example, I was also able to use verbal commands to save this file and then open it again. The training seems to be a match between the program getting to know your voice and you getting to know its commands. System requirements are listed on the program's Web site (scansoft.com).

Suzanne Hall Johnson, MN, RN,C, CNS, Editor of Nurse Author & Editor.