The Business Case for ASR-Assisted and Direct Speech Recognition Transcription.

Over the past two decades, patient documentation has undergone one of the most significant transformations in healthcare—shifting from largely paper‑driven processes to advanced, AI‑supported, interoperable digital ecosystems.

As clinicians have struggled with time‑consuming EHR (Electronic Health Record) typing, speech‑to‑text systems have become widely adopted. These tools eased documentation but still required significant manual cleanup due to contextual inaccuracies. Technology has rapidly evolved and accuracy has improved significantly, making automatic speech recognition a solution where discussions related to return of investment have become irrelevant.

Manual labor work is still extensively used, though. Data operators, secretaries, and transcribers convert the dictation of the doctors to text and return it to the doctor who will review it and upload it to the preferred location to be stored. Lack of modern technology consumes manpower, adds costs and causes negative impact into employee well-being in regards of time badly spent and ergonomic challenges caused by the physical work.

Moving from manual transcription to Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) assisted or direct speech recognition delivers measurable financial benefits across multiple dimensions.

The most immediate impact is cost reduction. ASR-assisted workflows significantly reduce transcription time, while direct speech recognition can eliminate transcription costs altogether for many use cases. This leads to lower operational expenses and predictable cost structures.

Market sees less need for labor work and as the transcription staff are reaching their retirement age, no new people are trained to do this. In some cases, the change is forced through faster, with relatively aggressive needs for cost reductions, so widely experienced in the healthcare sector all around the world.

Inscripta, the leading ASR-supplier in Finland, has supported many healthcare organisations in digitalization of the tools and processes, leading to substantial savings in operational expenditures. As an example, a healthcare region changed the transcription from all-manual to fully automated in three years, through a moderate and systematic process: in year 1, 30% of documentation was in automated process, in second year 60% and finally after third year, 100% of documentation was fully automated. Costs related to 50 transcribers and their tools were removed and replaced by marginal cost of ASR-solution. Annual cost savings in such example reach three million Euros.

ASR allows healthcare professionals to focus their time on patients. Up to two hours per day is saved by letting the technology focus on documentation. Radiologists achieve 50% of time savings compared with the time before speech recognition tools.

Productivity gains clearly strengthen the business case. Clinicians and professionals complete documentation faster, freeing time for revenue-generating or patient-facing activities. Even small time savings per task add up at scale.

There are also indirect financial benefits. Faster documentation improves turnaround times, reduces bottlenecks, and supports better compliance. Over time, improved staff satisfaction and lower burnout reduce recruitment and training costs.

When evaluated holistically, ASR-assisted transcription is not just a technology upgrade—it is a strategic investment that improves efficiency, reduces costs, and supports sustainable growth.