Products featured at the show included the Olympus® DS-7000 and DS-3500 professional digital voice recorders in addition to the full line of professional dictation devices available.

The DS-7000 Professional Dictation System from Olympus sets an industry standard in portable audio recording equipment and digital voice recorders. Designed for professionals who rely on secure, flexible, reliable products as integral parts of their office workflow, the DS-7000 has many features, including its commitment to maximum dictation accuracy through its compatibility with Dragon, the industry-leading Naturally Speaking voice-recognition software. The DS-7000 provides legal professionals with a dependable tool that features real-time 256-bit file encryption, a redesigned, independently housed microphone, enhanced battery life and next-generation Olympus Dictation Management Systems (ODMS) software.

The DS-3500 Professional Dictation System digital voice recorder is designed to dramatically increase efficiency and streamline operations in any professional environment. It’s the perfect blend of premium features and ease of use.

Both the DS-7000 and DS-3500 can be implemented seamlessly with any legal practice, large or small, and complements workflow currently in place without compromising security or efficiency.

Many visitors to the Olympus booth are still using analog microcassette devices for dictation and transcription. Switching from analog to digital can save time and money as well as increase efficiency. Learn more about the benefits of moving from analog to Olympus digital in this successful case study of a local law firm http://www.olympusamericaprodictation.com/news/olympus-flb-case-study/

The ALA Annual Conference and Exposition is the premier education and networking event for legal management professionals from around the globe and features three days of high-quality educational sessions and ample networking opportunities. The conference and exposition aim to enable attendees to preview the latest technologies, find solutions to business issues, solve problems, uncover emerging trends, and develop valuable resources and partnerships in the legal industry.

For more information on Olympus’ full line of professional dictation devices, visit http://www.olympusamericaprodictation.com.

Journalists interested in more information, review units or high-resolution images of the Olympus Professional Dictation equipment should contact Gwen Hoover at Altitude Marketing, 610-421-8601, gwen@altitudemarketing.comor visit http://www.olympusamericaprodictation.com/.

ABOUT OLYMPUS IMAGING AMERICA INC.
Olympus Imaging America Inc. is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering award-winning products for consumer and professional markets.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. works collaboratively with its customers and its ultimate parent company, Olympus Corporation, to develop breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality that enhance people’s lives every day. These include:

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In the U.S. alone, there are some 300,000 insurance claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners and investigators tasked with evaluating insurance claims – determining whether a carrier must pay a claim and for how much. This is not always an easy job.

Claims adjusters must examine property damage (for P&C claims), ensure claims are not fraudulent, interview doctors and employers (for health or disability claims), consult with attorneys, negotiate settlements and authorize payments. All of that work is extremely record-intensive, and a notebook isn’t nearly enough. That’s why more and more adjusters are turning to Olympus Professional Dictation devices to stay on top of their work.

Digital Voice Recorders for Auto Claims Adjusters
This example features an adjuster from a major P&C insurance carrier with managerial offices in the Northeast and Midwest.

A longtime customer filed a phone claim, indicating that he had struck a deer with his Mazda MX-5 the night before. He said that significant damage was done to the hood, front bumper, right front headlight and more. Per the company’s policy, a claims adjuster was dispatched for an afternoon appointment.

The adjuster arrived at the rural home, and was able to immediately confirm the body damage. Paint was chipped, metal was twisted, a headlight was smashed and frame issues were suspected. The presence of deer hair met the carrier’s standards for an animal strike, and the damage appeared to fall short of the company’s “total” threshold. All of this needed to be documented for entry and archiving in the company’s paperless document management system – a time-consuming process using pen and paper, or even a tablet equipped with a keyboard.

Fortunately, the adjuster’s carrier had equipped its team with Olympus digital voice recorders, with eyes on increasing adjuster efficiency and shortening cycle times from claim submission to final claim approval and payment. The professional dictation device allowed the adjuster to fully and clearly document the damage to the customer’s vehicle. Combined with a series of digital photographs, this added an exceptional layer of detail to adjuster’s report. To the customer’s delight, this allowed the claim to be more quickly processed and settled.

Digital Voice Recorders for Homeowners Insurance Adjusters
After Superstorm Sandy made its way up the East Coast, homeowners’ insurance claims skyrocketed. This meant an extreme workload for one adjuster working for a mid-sized carrier in Pennsylvania.

Trees were downed, windows were broken and structural damage was rampant throughout the adjuster’s territory. If he was going to provide the carrier’s typical level of thorough customer service and speedy response, he needed to be as efficient as possible. His Olympus Professional Dictation device made it happen.

The adjuster spent the days following Sandy driving all over his area, meeting with claimants and documenting their property damage. Time and time again, he was able to simply record homeowner interviews personal notes, and take photos and get back on the road – making the most of his work hours and minimizing customer wait time.

When the day’s site visits were done, the adjuster connected his DS-7000 digital voice recorder to its dock, automatically storing properly organized audio files with Olympus’ ODMS software. Key recordings were routed for examination and processing, then archived for compliance.

Within weeks of the October 2012 storm, life was nearly back to normal for the adjuster – and thanks to his carrier’s penchant for service and his DS-7000, it nearly was for his customers, too.

Why Olympus Professional Dictation?
You have many choices when it comes to digital voice recorders. But none stand up to an Olympus Professional Dictation device – the gold standard in recording and file management. Why?

• Superior audio quality: The DS-7000 and DS-3500 feature advanced internal microphones with dedicated settings for individual dictation and multi-user conferences/interviews. External Olympus microphones – and even phone recording equipment – can be attached in seconds.
• Industry-leading software: Olympus’ highly configurable ODMS software allows recordings to be automatically stored and routed as soon as a recorder is attached to a PC.
• Voice recognition integration: Olympus Professional Dictation devices are fully compatible with Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software, easing the burden of transcription and ensuring accurate data throughput.
• Reliability: Olympus Professional Dictation devices are painstakingly constructed from advanced plastics and lightweight metals, allowing for consistent operation and durability in nearly any situation.
• Intuitive controls: On-device controls on Olympus Professional Dictation devices are easily learned and used. In particular, the slideswitch operation built into the DS-7000 allows users to start, stop and rewind recording instantly, without even looking at the device.

Stanley Freeman, Olympus’ Technical Specialist in Audio, loves sharing hints and tricks about the new Professional Dictation Systems. Here’s April’s:

Did you know you can centralize the management of ODMS? The System Configuration Program is supplied with the Administrator CD as a component of the ODMS workgroup system for centrally managing ODMS users. Almost any aspect of ODMS can be configured from the SCP. Users and groups can be managed in larger numbers allowing for faster, easier configuration.

Software updates can be deployed to specific groups to assist with ensuring the reliability of the ODMS environment. The SCP also allows installation files to be customized so that even the software deployment is centrally managed.

Moreover, device and software settings can be locked so that organizations can implement a standard workflow for their dictation environment ensuring total consistency and accuracy. Additionally, the SCP now utilizes a repository service so that users only connect to the server, not to the repository folder. This feature allows access to the repository to be restricted without affecting the functionality of ODMS.

Stanley Freeman, Olympus’ Technical Specialist in Audio, loves sharing hints and tricks about the new Professional Dictation Systems. Here’s March’s:

The DS-7000 offers password protection and DSS Pro real-time 128- or 256-bit file encryption, making the device ideal for workplace environments that deal with sensitive information. Packaged with the Olympus Dictation Management System (ODMS R6) software and compatible with Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software, the DS-7000 is designed to become an essential part of any office’s dictation workflow directly out of the box. Support for up to 32 index marks per dictation file makes it easy to locate critical information. Dual SD and microSD card slots allow for up to 32GB of total memory.

Stanley Freeman, Olympus’ Technical Specialist in Audio, loves sharing hints and tricks about the new Professional Dictation Systems. Here’s February’s:

R6 gives users a new option for file downloading using a new program called the File Downloader. The application can be used for downloading dictations from the DS-7000 without having the full Dictation Module application installed. The File Downloader does not have any playback features for DSS or DS2 files. As such, it can be a useful addition to environments where the DS-7000 is used alongside third party Dictation and Transcription applications.

Stanley Freeman, Olympus’ Technical Specialist in Audio, loves sharing hints and tricks about the new Professional Dictation Systems. Here’s January’s:

ODMS used in a workgroup mode installation will help users who are in a much larger workflow environment. By making use of the server-side management applications (License Manager and System Configuration Program), the entire dictation environment can be managed from one location. The administrator tools required to use workgroup mode are supplied separately on the ODMS Administrator CD. By utilizing a Multi License Key for each module, the Dictation and Transcription module can be managed centrally. The user settings can be configured and locked from the SCP so no users can change settings unless granted permission by the Administrator. Typically this installation mode would serve a large amount of users who transfer files to multiple servers or send files from multiple locations. Workgroup mode must also be utilized for Terminal Service and Citrix installations.

Stanley Freeman, Olympus’ Technical Specialist in Audio, loves sharing hints and tricks about the new Professional Dictation Systems. Here’s December’s:

The Olympus Dictation Management System (ODMS) is a complete dictation and transcription management suite designed to simplify the dictation workflow. The ODMS package provides a robust set of features for authors and typist as well as allowing IT administrators to manage and customize their entire user base. This intuitive product will allow users to play, edit and manage their dictations to improve efficiency and increase productivity. ODMS has also been developed to integrate with Dragon NaturallySpeaking to offer a completely automated background voice recognition system.

Like nearly all law firms, FLB depends on dictation and transcription for timely preparation of agreements, briefs and real estate planning documents on which clients rely to advance their causes. But until mid-2012, FLB’s attorneys had exclusively used analog microcassette units to produce their recordings. Though entrenched, the legacy system brought with it numerous hurdles, including difficulty replacing and servicing equipment, poor sound quality, inefficient transcription workflows and the ever-present threat of missing tapes.

This year, FLB took part in a trial and demonstration program exploring the capabilities of Olympus Professional Dictation equipment, including the DS-7000 handheld digital recorder and the AS-7000 transcription kit. The results were impressive, both for attorneys and the firm’s back-office staff.

Digital dictation for the attorney
FLB shareholder and attorney Joseph S. D’Amico, Jr., has been in practice for more than 20 years. As a veteran attorney with decades of dictation experience, D’Amico was impressed with the DS-7000’s user experience – particularly the tactile feedback provided by a robust slide switch and intuitive controls.

“I like that the DS-7000 behaves much the same way as a traditional microcassette recorder in terms of the controls and feel,” D’Amico said. “That is a big plus for us who have been practicing for a while.

“In legal circles, our dictation involves writing lengthy briefs and memos as we think. We’re not recording a few lines to ourselves to remember later. When you are dictating pages at a time, you need the ability to easily start, stop and correct mistakes. This hand unit provides that. Smartphone-based transcription programs are not as flexible and do not allow for quick review and adjustment.”

D’Amico has also noticed a decided improvement in sound quality when compared to analog devices.

“Recordings taken with the DS-7000 are much easier for me to understand,” he said. “When dictating lengthy pieces, you often need to go back and listen. Over time, tapes often get stretched, which results in sound quality that’s not very good. Digital recordings are much better for me, and even better for the transcriptionists.”

Digital dictation for the IT staff
Donna Seasholtz, FLB’s IT Administrator/Consultant, used to call it “Sneaker Net.” When the firm was completely dependent on analog dictation, recordings were sent to transcriptionists exclusively on physical tapes. When one of them was out or overloaded with work, microcassettes were shuffled from place to place and employee to employee, creating hurdles with workflows and efficiency.

From sound quality and wasted effort to difficulty in replacing broken recorders, Seasholtz said, working exclusively with microcassettes for dictation and transcription was difficult and inefficient.

FLB had also tried several cloud-based digital dictation services. They were ineffective for different reasons – namely buggy drivers and problems with terminal server environments.

After those underwhelming digital dictation experiences, Seasholtz was impressed with the Olympus Professional Dictation ecosystem. Integration between FLB’s existing technical foundation, Olympus Dictation Management System (ODMS) R6 software, DS-7000 digital recorders and AS-7000 transcription kits was seamless. And when Seasholtz needed support, Olympus’ network of Certified Dealer Partners were there, waiting to help.

“Olympus supplied virtual drivers for Citrix and Windows Terminal Services,” Seasholtz said. “Once we installed that, we were basically able to plug the devices in and be ready to go. There was no battling whatsoever.”

Additionally, Olympus software allows FLB administrators and technical staff to set default configurations for each recorder on a granular basis. This ensures that recordings are stored and secured in accordance with all firm-wide regulations and standards, while still allowing individual users to utilize their DS-7000 digital recorders however they like. Whether that means taking advantage of the device’s many advanced features or simply enjoying automatic recording routing and charging is up to each attorney.

“The DS-7000 really is a nice recorder,” Seasholtz said. “If you can’t find a feature on there that’s useful, you really shouldn’t be dictating.”

Next steps
After participating in the Olympus Professional Dictation trial and demonstration program, FLB has moved toward fully adopting digital dictation equipment and workflows. Firm representatives anticipate that the move will eliminate the challenges associated with legacy analog dictation systems, improve efficiency and allow FLB to better serve its distinguished roster of regional, national and international clients.

• Support for most versions of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system, Office 2010 x64 and new versions of virtual environment products, including VMware View 4.6/5.0 and Citrix XenApp with Citrix Receiver 3.x.
• Improved interaction with Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software, including fixes for minor punctuation and muted vowel issues, easier addition of files into the background VR queue and author ID filtering.
• New file finding functionality, including list search dialogs and incremental search features.

For more information on how to upgrade, contact your Olympus Certified Dealer Partner.