Empowering patients through clearer health records

Understanding health is a fundamental right – and a cornerstone of patient engagement. Yet medical terminology often leaves patients confused, and less likely to participate in their own care. Lexacom Echo breaks down these barriers by automatically adding plain English descriptions as clinicians speak, ensuring clarity and trust in every interaction.

Bridging the health literacy gap

A staggering 43% of adults in England struggle to understand written health information, with medical terminology being a major obstacle. When patients review their records in the NHS App, terms like “hypertension” or “apyrexial” can require further explanation, leading to uncertainty, anxiety, and potentially unnecessary queries or appointments for clarification.

Lexacom Echo takes a proactive approach, automatically adding plain English descriptions in brackets after medical terms, as clinicians dictate notes. For example, ‘hypertension’ is explained as ‘(high blood pressure)’, and ‘dyslipidaemia’ is accompanied by ‘(a condition where there are unhealthy levels of fat in the blood)’. This helps patients to understand their records, building confidence and trust in their care. This feature aligns with NHS England’s push for improved health literacy, enabling patients to better engage with their health information, and make informed decisions about their care.

How Lexacom Echo works

As clinicians dictate patient consultations, Lexacom Echo uses an extensive glossary of terms to add descriptions in real time. These explanations can then be included in patient records, visible in platforms like the NHS App. This process is optional, and when selected requires no additional effort from clinicians.

By bridging the gap between medical terminology and patient understanding, Lexacom Echo empowers patients to take a more active role in managing their health.

Improved health literacy

With Lexacom Echo, public understanding of medical terms increases significantly: up to five times higher, as demonstrated by an independent YouGov poll of UK adults.

Clearer records create trust and reduce confusion and anxiety, leading to fewer follow-up queries and appointments.

Patients equipped with accessible health information are more likely to adhere to treatment plans and engage in preventative care.

Clearer, more accessible health

Lexacom has been at the forefront of healthcare innovation for over 25 years, offering intuitive solutions that meet the needs of clinicians and patients alike. Our development of the ability to automatically add descriptions to medical terms reflects our commitment to patient-centred care, supporting NHS initiatives for transparency and engagement.

When patients understand their health records, they are better positioned to collaborate with clinicians, manage chronic conditions, and improve outcomes. With Lexacom Echo, the journey to clearer, more accessible health records starts today.

Learn more

Discover how Lexacom Echo is enhancing patient engagement through innovative technology.

Call 01295 236910, email sales@lexacom.co.uk, or visit lexacom.co.uk/echo to book a demonstration.

With 25 years of innovation in speech recognition and digital dictation, Lexacom is the number one choice trusted by UK clinicians, bringing tasks, data, systems, and people together to help healthcare organisations make the most of their time.