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Medical Dictation Software For Mac



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macOS Catalina introduces Voice Control, a new way to fully control your Mac entirely with your voice. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine to improve on the Enhanced Dictation feature available in earlier versions of macOS.1

How to turn on Voice Control

After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
  2. Click Voice Control in the sidebar.
  3. Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple.2
    Voice Control preferences

When Voice Control is enabled, you see an onscreen microphone representing the mic selected in Voice Control preferences.

To pause Voice Control and stop it from from listening, say ”Go to sleep” or click Sleep. To resume Voice Control, say or click ”Wake up.”

How to use Voice Control

Get to know Voice Control by reviewing the list of voice commands available to you: Say “Show commands” or ”Show me what I can say.” The list varies based on context, and you may discover variations not listed. To make it easier to know whether Voice Control heard your phrase as a command, you can select ”Play sound when command is recognized” in Voice Control preferences.

Basic navigation

Voice Control recognizes the names of many apps, labels, controls, and other onscreen items, so you can navigate by combining those names with certain commands. Here are some examples:

  • Open Pages: ”Open Pages.” Then create a new document: ”Click New Document.” Then choose one of the letter templates: 'Click Letter. Click Classic Letter.” Then save your document: ”Save document.”
  • Start a new message in Mail: ”Click New Message.” Then address it: ”John Appleseed.”
  • Turn on Dark Mode: ”Open System Preferences. Click General. Click Dark.” Then quit System Preferences: ”Quit System Preferences” or ”Close window.”
  • Restart your Mac: ”Click Apple menu. Click Restart” (or use the number overlay and say ”Click 8”).

You can also create your own voice commands.

Number overlays

Use number overlays to quickly interact with parts of the screen that Voice Control recognizes as clickable, such as menus, checkboxes, and buttons. To turn on number overlays, say ”Show numbers.” Then just say a number to click it.

Number overlays make it easy to interact with complex interfaces, such as web pages. For example, in your web browser you could say ”Search for Apple stores near me.” Then use the number overlay to choose one of the results: ”Show numbers. Click 64.” (If the name of the link is unique, you might also be able to click it without overlays by saying ”Click” and the name of the link.)

Voice Control automatically shows numbers in menus and wherever you need to distinguish between items that have the same name.


Grid overlays

Use grid overlays to interact with parts of the screen that don't have a control, or that Voice Control doesn't recognize as clickable.

Say “Show grid” to show a numbered grid on your screen, or ”Show window grid” to limit the grid to the active window. Say a grid number to subdivide that area of the grid, and repeat as needed to continue refining your selection.

To click the item behind a grid number, say ”Click” and the number. Or say ”Zoom” and the number to zoom in on that area of the grid, then automatically hide the grid. You can also use grid numbers to drag a selected item from one area of the grid to another: ”Drag 3 to 14.”

To hide grid numbers, say ”Hide numbers.” To hide both numbers and grid, say ”Hide grid.”

Best Dictation For Mac

Dictation

When the cursor is in a document, email message, text message, or other text field, you can dictate continuously. Dictation converts your spoken words into text.

  • To enter a punctuation mark, symbol, or emoji, just speak its name, such as ”question mark” or ”percent sign” or ”happy emoji.” These may vary by language or dialect.
  • To move around and select text, you can use commands like ”Move up two sentences” or ”Move forward one paragraph” or ”Select previous word” or ”Select next paragraph.”
  • To format text, try ”Bold that” or ”Capitalize that,” for example. Say ”numeral” to format your next phrase as a number.
  • To delete text, you can choose from many delete commands. For example, say “delete that” and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed. Or say ”Delete all” to delete everything and start over.

Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, to dictate and then send a birthday greeting in Messages, you could say ”Happy Birthday. Click Send.” Or to replace a phrase, say ”Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived.”

You can also create your own vocabulary for use with dictation.

Create your own voice commands and vocabulary

Create your own voice commands

  1. Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
  2. Click Commands or say ”Click Commands.” The complete list of all commands opens.
  3. To add a new command, click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.” Then configure these options to define the command:
    • When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want to be able to speak to perform the action.
    • While using: Choose whether your Mac performs the action only when you're using a particular app.
    • Perform: Choose the action to perform. You can open a Finder item, open a URL, paste text, paste data from the clipboard, press a keyboard shortcut, select a menu item, or run an Automator workflow.
  4. Use the checkboxes to turn commands on or off. You can also select a command to find out whether other phrases work with that command. For example, “Undo that” works with several phrases, including “Undo this” and “Scratch that.”

To quickly add a new command, you can say ”Make this speakable.” Voice Control will help you configure the new command based on the context. For example, if you speak this command while a menu item is selected, Voice Control helps you make a command for choosing that menu item.

Create your own dictation vocabulary

  1. Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
  2. Click Vocabulary, or say ”Click Vocabulary.”
  3. Click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.”
  4. Type a new word or phrase as you want it to be entered when spoken.

Learn more

  • For the best performance when using Voice Control with a Mac notebook computer and an external display, keep your notebook lid open or use an external microphone.
  • All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, so your personal data is always kept private.
  • Use Voice Control on your iPhone or iPod touch.
  • Learn more about accessibility features in Apple products.

1. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine for U.S. English only. Other languages and dialects use the speech-recognition engine previously available with Enhanced Dictation.

2. If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Voice Control might not be able to download. Have your network administrator refer to the network ports used by Apple software products.

I called Dr. John Williams, M.D., F.A.C.S., to discuss his experience using Mobius Conveyor, the new medical dictation system that works seamlessly on any operating system. Dr. Williams is a breast cancer surgeon in northern Virginia and serves as Chairman of the President’s Cancer Panel. He is a national leader in breast cancer education and founded the not-for-profitBreast Cancer School for Patients.

Simply life with one computer for everything

Many doctors use an Apple laptop at home and a PC at the office. But constantly switching devices – or carrying around two computers – can be frustrating and inefficient. What if there was a high-quality medical dictation software for both Macs and PCs?

This was the question Dr. Williams was asking when he discovered Mobius Conveyor, a new medical dictation software that works on any computer operating system. Conveyor converts your iPhone into a Universal Documentation Device that conveys your exact words to any EMR system, from any location.

“My Dragon Medical software license was going to expire and I needed to make a change,” Dr. Williams explained. “I wanted to simplify my life and be able to have my Mac, which I use for everyday things, also be my work computer. It’s a pain to carry around two laptops with two chargers and constantly be toggling back and forth.”

As Dr. Williams was searching for his next option, he found Conveyor and signed up for the beta phase. “I’ve used Conveyor for the last five months,” he told me, “and I’ve been very pleased with it. I’m so happy I can do medical dictations on my Mac. Now I can keep my whole life on my Mac. It has really streamlined things.”

“I’m so happy I can do medical dictations on my Mac. Now I can keep my whole life on my Mac. It has really streamlined things.”

Dr. John Williams, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Mobius Conveyor in practice

I asked Dr. Williams how he uses Conveyor in the office, and he helped me paint a picture. In addition to loving that he now has a medical dictation software for Macs, he shared three benefits that stood out.

1. Your smartphone replaces a dictaphone or handset

“Every day I see patients in the office and I create a consultation note by dictating findings into their chart,” Dr. Williams told me.

“Having the mobile aspect is so incredibly convenient as opposed to a handset. We carry our phones everywhere we go, so they’re always right in front of you. Unlike a dictation handset, we don’t have to plug it in and tote it around with us.”

2. Conveyor gives you the flexibility to dictate anywhere

Dr. Williams does most of his dictating at home, and he said it’s really convenient that he has his phone right there with his notes and he can just start dictating. Same iPhone, same Mac. It’s all with him, making documentation quick and easy from any location. And with Conveyor’s Memo functionality, he also has the option to dictate a note for later transfer to a computer.

3. The Conveyor USB means you don’t need software

“I found the USB device really convenient, it’s fantastic,” said Dr. Williams. While Conveyor can be used with software and a QR code (download the software on your mobile and desktop devices, and scan a QR code to pair them), there’s a much simpler option: the Conveyor USB. After plugging the USB into any computer, your dictations are typed wherever a cursor is placed. No software, no hassle.

As Dr. Williams put it, “I can take that device and use it in any computer should I need to. That’s a huge advantage and gives me peace of mind knowing I can take my dictation system anywhere.”

Should you switch to medical dictation software?

Dr. Williams had been using speech-to-text medical dictation software for over four years when he switched to Conveyor. Whether it’s Mobius or Dragon or something else, he offered some advice for physicians who are considering switching from typing to dictation for the first time.

Medical dictation app for mac

“Transitioning from typing to dictation is hard, but it’s more of a mental barrier than an actual logistical barrier,” says Dr. Williams. “If you type quickly, you move through your notes, fill things in, and you think you’re being reasonably efficient. But ultimately you can articulate what you want to write much faster than you can type it.”

Dr. Williams emphasized that doctors tend to take a habit-based approach to documentation:

“It’s easier to not change because of resistance, but it’s so worth the effort to flip that switch and integrate dictation because it’s something you’ll use forever going forward. I would bet there isn’t one doctor who has used a dictation system like Dragon or Mobius and then stopped using it and returned to typing text as the modality for communicating. There’s a reason no-one returns to typing from dictation, and that’s because speaking is natural – it’s human.”

This relates to something even more important that Dr. Williams brought up, which transcends the mechanical differences of typing vs. dictation:

“As a cancer physician, I need to be able to communicate complexity and complex decision making. We’re talking about life and death decisions with my patients. My notes need to be highly personalized to the patient I’m seeing.”

Dr. Williams takes this very seriously. As he explained, “If you type one sentence, it looks like you did one sentence worth of work with the patient. If you’re actually doing the work you want to do, you need to document that work.”

“Dictation allows you to document as much as you need to easily, without the burden of typing. That translates to engagement for documentation, referring physicians, quality of care, medical-legal, and so on. Caring for patients isn’t done in one sweeping sentence, it’s done in a more complex way.”

Best Medical Dictation Software For Mac

At Mobius, we believe that the burden of typing is the only thing that might get in the way of every physician taking that same level of care with documentation. Having a well-developed dictation workflow makes it faster and easier to capture the complexity of clinical decision-making.

Best Medical Dictation Software

The medical dictation software for both Macs and PCs

Making the switch to dictation has never been easier than with Mobius Conveyor. Whereas other medical dictation platforms charge you for extras, Mobius includes everything you need for efficient documentation.

Importantly, Conveyor also doesn’t include what you don’t need. That means no complicated installation process, no required training videos, and no huge list of options and customizations that require an IT team to set up.

Medical Dictation Software For Mac

“Just like any new software, it took me some time to intuitively learn the different features of Conveyor,” Dr. Williams told me. “But when I started with Dragon I had to do a two-hour video course. There were so many choices – how to customize the microphone, how to customize XYZ…. It seemed like an overwhelming process to learn. Now that I think about it, when I got up and running with Mobius, it was: upload the app, sync your phone, and start talking. To be honest with you, that’s all you need.”