Has anyone successfully used DNS with Athenahealths EMR.  I have found it only marginally compatible.  Sometimes I am able to dictate into a text box but other times I have to use DNS dictation box. I will try to dictate into a text box and it simply won't accept the text.  The same text box will work for three patients in a row and then it won't work at all requiring me to call up the dictation box. Anyone know why? Any successful users?

Fred,

It would be helpful if you updated your KnowBrainer profile to include your hardware configuration, or place it in your signature line. All I can tell from your profile is that you are using DNS 10 Professional, and I don't know if you're using DNS 10.0 or 10.1, yada yada yada. Makes it a lot easier to answer support questions.

In addition to Lunis' comments, I'm surprised that you're able to get DNS to work at all withAthenahealths EMR. That is, if you're not using DNS 10.1 Medical, trying to use any other version in an EMR generally turns off the microphone. This particular EMR may be the exception to the rule. Nevertheless, any version of DNS other than Medical or earlier version releases (i.e., 9.5 and below) has built-in hardcoded EMR detection, which automatically shuts the microphone off. If this doesn't occur with you, then you've found the one weak link that works to your advantage.

Regardless of any of the above, dictating into text boxes in any application very often requires that those text boxes use a format of rich text edit that is Select-and-Say enabled. In many cases like this, if Select-and-Say is disabled, you can't dictate text into such text boxes. This then begs the question that when you are dictating under these conditions and you get no transfer of dictation to text into those text boxes, is the green button that indicates Select-and-Say green or gray?. If it's gray, then that's your answer. Without Select-and-Say you can't dictate into such text boxes.

On the other hand, are you making absolutely sure that your particular EMR is opened after you open your profile (DNS). Beginning with DNS 9 and extending right on through DNS 10-10.1, Select-and-Say enabled applications or text Windows will not become Select-and-Say enabled if you load DNS after loading the application. You need to make sure that DNS is loaded first. You can do this by either opening DNS with your entire profile, or simply having your system boot up with DNS in QuickStart mode, which loads the very small natspeak.exe linking loader and which also make sure that any application that you opened is mapped properly for both access and Select-and-Say.

My suggestion would be to check and see whether the green Select-and-Say button is enabled whenever you attempt to dictate into any one of these text boxes. If it's not, then that's probably your problem. In addition, there may be variations between screens and text boxes wherein the developers of your EMR may not have used a supported rich text edit format (i.e., SAPI compliant).

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)

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Click Medical 10 EMR Support List to see a complete list of disabled EMRs. Athena is not currently on the hit list.

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                                  Developer of KnowBrainer 2010
                     Nuance NaturallySpeaking Certified BBB Accredited 
                              Speech Recognition Solutions Provider

The best answer we can give you is it depends on NaturallySpeaking's mood. Simply put, you are dictating into a non-Select-&-Say enabled application which for whatever reasons, will occasionally allow dictation (without Select-&-Say) but at other times won't allow dictation at all. NaturallySpeaking has behaved this way for as long as we can remember.

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                                  Developer of KnowBrainer 2010
                     Nuance NaturallySpeaking Certified BBB Accredited 
                              Speech Recognition Solutions Provider

 The fix you mention does not work or make much difference that I can detect. DNS is very inconsistant with Athenaclinicals. Dictating into the letter editor is really problematic. Hopefully there will be a solution soon but it is frustrating never knowing when it will work and when it will not.  Athena has been working for over a year to fix the problem with Nuance.

I think you are going to be disappointed. Are they really marketing that as a positive feature because it is a known functionality problem that many of my friends at Athena are aware of. Great company but does not function well with Dragon period.

The trick with EMR's is what is the edit control that is in use!  Dragon supports many different Edit controls and has whitepapers on how to best build web pages for navigation, dictation etc.!