While there are many companies that manufacture digital voice recorders that are suitable for medical transcription, Olympus, Sony and Panasonic are the market leaders. These are their top products.
- Olympus DS-5000 Digital Voice Recorder
The DS-5000 is an advanced professional digital recorder, designed to provide easy, flexible and productive dictation. The slide switch operation is easy to use, and for physicians making the switch from a tape recorder to a digital recorder, it’s the most intuitive. It has programmable buttons which are helpful in identifying dictation types, or for when the recorder is used by more than one physician. It has external memory cards. A nice feature is the multi-function cradle which both recharges the Ni-MH battery pack and allows for easy downloading of your files to your PC. You can also automate sending your digital files to your medical transcription provider over your LAN or the Internet, once they are uploaded to your computer. It uses DS2 (digital speech professional) file format and files may be password protected. 
Sony ICD-BM1 Digital Voice RecorderThe Sony ICD-BMI has a professional quality sound and high-level functionality. It comes with a removable 128 MB Memory Stick®, providing 41 minutes of recording at the highest quality level. It also has a slide control switch operation. Features include a voice e-mail function, user named folders (set using the computer), easy search and priority setting. It comes with a USB cable for connectivity.- Philips Pocket Memo 9600 Digital Voice RecorderThe Philips Digital Pocket Memo 9600 features include voice commands,
file encryption and password protection. It uses the .dss (digital speech standard) file format, the international standard for professional speech processing. Its ergonomic design is user friendly and the controls are fairly intuitive. The 4-position slide switch allows for single-handed operation. It comes with Philips SpeechExec Pro Dictate which is a network-based dictation software program that helps streamline communication between the user and the medical transcription provider. It also has both a docking station and USB cable for uploading files and charging the recorder.
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Check our medical transcription dictation tips next month to learn more.
