VA Pathology Lab Saves Up to $60,000 Each Year with VoiceOver PRO
The challenge
A VA anatomic pathology department was running on legacy tools: an aging Dictaphone in the gross room, manual transcription, and inconsistent synoptic reporting patched together with copy and paste. Dragon dictation alone could not handle large gross dictations inside VistA without heavy formatting cleanup and errors, and out-of-date CAP checklists created compliance and patient-safety risk.
What changed
After learning other VA sites relied on it, the department deployed VoiceOver PRO® for its VistA compatibility. Pathologists and technicians moved to PRO for the gross room and sign-out, most using it for 100% of cases, with current CAP synoptic checklists built in and validated before a report can be transmitted.
The results
The move off legacy tools cut cost and risk at once, and freed staff for higher-value work:
- ~$60,000 saved annually, having eliminated three transcription FTEs.
- 45 minutes to an hour saved per pathologist, per day.
- Standardized, inspection-ready CAP synoptic reporting, validated before a report can be transmitted.
- Seamless fit with VA VistA, with most users on PRO for 100% of cases.
- Staff redeployed to support histology and molecular expansion, positioning the lab for its coming VistA-to-Oracle Health/Cerner (Millennium PathNet) migration.
Using VoiceOver PRO was a way to really ensure that all pathologists would have the most up-to-date CAP checklists and that all the required material would be there. PRO gives peace of mind.
— Pathologist, VA Pathology Lab