Olympus Digital Dictation and Transcription
Are you looking for a way forward, out of the mists of analog dictation? Tired of passing tapes back and forth? Too much dictation work getting lost in the shuffle?
Of course, you need to create multiple dictations for your clients. But right now, in order to distinguish one file from another on a single tape, you’re likely making due with index points.
Then, you need to hand off those tapes to your secretary, appropriately labeled. Hopefully, one of them doesn’t get misplaced, damaged, or left in a hot car and melted into oblivion.
Meanwhile, your transcriptionist has been waiting. And, in this workflow, she doesn’t know how much work is coming until it arrives. You stack the tapes on her desk, in the order you need them—you hope.
If you’re still using analog tapes to record, transcribe, and store your dictations, we’re guessing you’re painfully aware of the above. You probably realize that it’s time to upgrade, but maybe you don’t know what to expect.
The purpose of this guide is to explain some possible benefits and suggest a couple of alternatives, as supported by the Olympus Dictation Management System (ODMS), the DS-7000 digital voice recorder, and the RS-31 foot pedal. So, sit back and let us paint you a picture of how this could work.
What to Expect From This Guide
To be clear, this is an overview of how the Olympus software and hardware can help your office reimagine its dictation and transcription workflow, from author to transcriptionist to document. There will be features we don’t discuss and details we don’t address. For now, suffice it to say this is an introductory, rather than comprehensive, guide to going digital.
Oh, and unless otherwise indicated, the following applies to ODMS R6, for Windows only. We’ll discuss Mac options later in the guide.
If you’d like more information or want to find an Olympus dealer near you, please contact us.
Benefits of Olympus Dictation and Transcription
Imagine a world in which you don’t have to worry about damaged cassettes or worn out tape heads. Where you can clearly distinguish one dictation file from another, and identify them by name—without having to fast-forward through other dictations. Where your supply of blank tapes doesn’t determine how many files you can record.
While overcoming those limitations, you’ll also gain significant flexibility and functionality in three major areas: dictation workflow, file security, and data storage.
Workflow
- You’re able to make work available to multiple transcriptionists at once, allowing them to load balance on-the-fly.
- No need to be physically present to deliver your dictations to your transcriptionist. ODMS supports file transfer via email, over a network connection, or through a FTP server.
- The Olympus infrastructure helps you track and prioritize dictations–to see whether something is finished, needs higher priority, or should be reassigned.
- You choose how to organize your dictations, with the option to make routing and filing as simple or complex as you prefer.
Security
- You can work within multiple levels of security, as needed. The DS-7000 includes support for a PIN code lock, and dictations can be protected with 256-bit AES encryption. Click here for a more extensive look at its security features.
Storage
- Safeguards exist that help protect your work from loss or unintended deletion.
- The digital recording format is many times smaller than tape, but can hold exponentially more dictations.
- Work can be set to archive automatically, making for hassle-free storage and retrieval of records.
Three Possible Setups
Let’s assume that you like what you’ve seen so far. Now, we want to show you three scenarios that could easily serve your needs in a digital dictation-transcription workflow. These are listed in order of flexibility, from least to greatest.
Scenario A – Direct Docking
The author creates dictations on the DS-7000, and then walks the device over to the transcriptionist (where the Olympus software is installed). ODMS downloads the files from the device automatically. The typist uses her RS-31 foot pedal to control file playback as she transcribes.
This is the lightest, simplest setup available, but it requires physical proximity.
Scenario B – Networking
In this workflow, the Olympus software is installed on two (or more) computers: the author’s and the transcriptionist’s. The author then creates dictations on the DS-7000 and docks the device at their workstation. The files download from the recorder into ODMS, which is configured to route them to a folder on the office network drive or file server.
On the transcriptionist’s end, ODMS is set up to point to the author’s folder on the network, and dictations are available to transcribe almost instantly (contingent upon a solid and fast connection to the network by both parties).
This setup requires that the author and transcriptionist have access and permissions to the network folder.
Scenario C – Email
Finally, we have the least location-dependent setup: email. As before, both the author and transcriptionist should have Olympus installed on their computers. The author dictates using the DS-7000 and then plugs the device in at his workstation.
As long as that computer has access to the internet, the software (when properly configured) will send his dictations, via email, to his transcriptionist. ODMS is configured, on the typist’s end, to then pick that email up and display the dictations in the Inbox folder. Again, she must also have internet access.
Pairing Dragon and Olympus
If you are a fan of speech recognition, and familiar with Dragon Naturally Speaking*, you should know that you can also add DNS 13 Legal to your Olympus workflow. ODMS can send your dictations through Dragon—and then route the files to your transcriptionist for correction. Definitely something to consider.
*DNS 13 Legal sold separately
Olympus for Mac OS X
Earlier, we said that everything in this guide, unless otherwise specified, applied to ODMS R6—which is a Windows-only application. But if you’re a Mac user, there is hope.
Olympus has a similar application, called DSS Player for Mac, which does include some of the features of the Windows version—some, but not all. For instance, there is no email or FTP support, and the application will not pair with Dragon. While it is limited in some significant ways, when compared with ODMS, it’s still a giant step in the right direction for Mac users.