While the number of PC users far outweigh Mac users, even some medical practitioners are making a switch to Mac for various reasons. As a result, MacSpeech Dictate has recently diversified, providing versions for Medical and Legal users.
The questions are:
Is MacSpeech Dictate Medical ready for prime time use?
Is MacSpeech Dictate Medical as good as Dragon Medical?
The quick answer is “no”, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule.
From what I have experienced thus far, I remain a little unimpressed when comparing MacSpeech to Dragon, and here is why.
- The correction method appears to be far more cumberson in MacSpeech.
- MacSpeech requires far more mousing than Dragon.
- No roaming user profile ability in MacSpeech.
- No digital voice recorder ability in MacSpeech.
- Command creation seems cumbersome in MacSpeech.
- Fewer control and customization options in MacSpeech.
However, some positive points of note:
- For the medical community, the 50+ medical specialty vocabularies are available which will result in formidable accuracy (as good as Dragon).
- The interface, although less intuitive in some areas, is also simpler.
Speakeasy Solutions is certainly in a position to offer MacSpeech Dictate to those who are interested, but we draw a comparison to the most basic version of Dragon with respect to user functionality. If a Mac user simply wishes to dictate, transcribing their voice into text, then MacSpeech will certainly deliver. If, however, you are an existing Dragon Medical user who has streamlined your workflow, you will likely be disappointed with MacSpeech (again, this will depend on your requirements and the features you need).
If you are interested in MacSpeech, please contact myself (Alexandria), and together we can determine whether Dragon or MacSpeech would satisfy your specific requirements.
I, personally, will be keeping a serious eye on MacSpeech Dictate. Just as Dragon has improved over the years, I’ve no doubts that MacSpeech will likewise improve. It’s only a matter of time before there will be little difference except “which platform do you wish to use?”.
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3 comments ↓
What is the price here and in Nunavut?(no pst)
[Reply]
Today, MacSpeech showed what kind of company they are. Yesterday, I received an error message indicating that I had too many copies of the program running. I have had 3 copies running in my office for over 3 years. The instructions indicated that I had the right to use 5 copies. In any event, I called support and they told me to get the upgrade which would repair this problem. I did that and the problem continued. I called support and was told that the upgrade prevented more than one copy of the program running at the same time. If I wanted to have more than one copy running, I would have to buy a new program at $339. It seems to me a bit ruthless for a company to change business policy unannounced and disrupt businesses in such a way. I could resolve the problem by buying 2 more copies of the program at $670. With this type of behavior in the company, I believe it’s time to start looking for a new transcription program. DJB
[Reply]
@Dennis: That is unfortunate to hear. This is one of the aspects I like about Dragon for the PC — the license is per user and not per machine. We have physicians who install Dragon in each of their exam rooms without issue.
I do wish you luck and hope you find a better solution.
Alexandria, Speakeasy Solutions
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