Nuance Communications today released PowerScribe 360, an advanced radiology reporting and communications platform that combines the best capabilities of PowerScribe and RadWhere into a unified solution.

PowerScribe 360 was designed based on feedback and the extensive experience from Nuance’s growing list of radiology customers, which today accounts for more than one third of all radiologists in the United States. This new platform offers unmatched speech recognition accuracy and introduces extensive productivity, communication and administration features that will redefine the industry standard for optimizing the multifaceted radiology workflow.

With PowerScribe360, customers can combine the Dragon Medical speech recognition engine for core radiology reporting with options for critical test result management, external data capture, multisite workflow support and structured reporting into a single solution. With workflow and communication tools never before offered as part of a traditional radiology speech recognition system, PowerScribe 360 gives radiology departments and imaging groups the power to create high-quality documentation and turnaround diagnostic imaging interpretations faster and more efficiently than ever before.

“I am amazed at how well the development and engineering staff at Nuance have listened to suggestions and requests from clinical users,” said Dr. Christopher L. Sistrom, vce chair and an associate professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “The new features in PowerScribe 360 represent an embarrassment of riches with a modular design and customizability that allows system administrators and users to modify their organizational and personal instances of the platform to an almost infinite degree.”

PowerScribe 360 offers radiology-specific language models to ensure word-error rate is low and editing time is minimized. The platform also comes standard with a library of structured report templates, auto-formatting, voice commands, and other options, allowing for customized user profiles, interface views, report queue prioritization, system access and much more. Additional features and optional modules include:

• Speech-enabled Access to Key Diagnostic Information – Assisted Diagnosis runs in the background while radiologists report; when needed, a reference search can be initiated with a simple voice command. Radiologists can access disease details, differential diagnoses, radiology and anatomy e-books, medical image searches, Internet content, Radiology search engines, annotated anatomical atlases, and more.
• Flexible Speech-Enabled Reporting Workflows – Radiologists select their reporting style based on preference or based on report priority. Workflows include speech recognition with delegated editing, speech recognition with self-editing, or speech recognition with advanced macros and auto-structured reporting.
• Workflow Orchestrator – Radiologists can easily access and view images from multiple worksites on the same platform and at the same viewing station, even when multiple RIS, PACS, and Advanced Visualization applications are in play.
• Improved Communication Tools – Radiologists, technologists, nurses, and administrators can capture and share relevant information that can be automatically merged into radiology reports and exported to third-party systems.
• Enhanced Radiologists’ Experience – A reporting interface and Web-based user portal allow radiologists to easily access prior reports, report/patient attachments, report/patient notes, associated order data, report status queues, and more.
• ACR RADPEER Integrated Peer-Review Capabilities – PowerScribe 360 automates quality assurance initiatives by enabling data collection, a peer review portal, and one-click access to guidelines based on American College of Radiology criteria. This integration contributes to improved workflow efficiency for the radiologist during reporting.
• Option to Integrate with Nuance’s  eScription Platform – PowerScribe 360 can integrate with Nuance’s eScription background speech recognition platform. This integration allows for a single, enterprise-wide medical transcription platform for shared medical transcription resources across departments.
• Web Services API – Healthcare provider organizations and third-party solution providers can integrate applications directly into the platform. For example, modality-generated measurements can be easily inserted into the PowerScribe 360 system. Automatically adding real-time biometric data to radiology reports eliminates the need for radiologists to re-enter data via manual typing or dictation. Additionally, reports are more comprehensive and accurate, improving patient safety and care.

“We have been very satisfied users of Nuance radiology speech recognition for years,” said Dr. David Mendelson, chief of clinical informatics and director of radiology information systems at Mount Sinai Medical Center. “The new PowerScribe 360 platform provides improvements in speech recognition accuracy and user customization while offering a complementary set of tools that assist with accurately capturing, documenting and delivering patient results.”

PowerScribe 360 seamlessly integrates with Nuance’s entire radiology portfolio, including Veriphy for automated communication and reporting of high-priority patient findings, RadPort, and RadCube for end-to-end workflow optimization for appropriate image ordering and outcomes analysis. PowerScribe 360 supports workstations with 64-bit OS, as well as the latest technologies, including Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8.0, Microsoft Cluster Services, and VMware.