PDAs and On-Site Systems For the purposes of this discussion, PDAs, or Personal Digital Assistants, will be considered similar to hand helds and computer microphones in that they are portable palm-sized devices, some of which are capable of recording voice in a format that can be used for dictation. File formats compressed enough for efficient transfer have yet to be incorporated into PDAs.  However, they are a fast-evolving group of their own and vary in their capabilities, including charge capture, prescription writing, lab access, diagnostic and treatment plan programs, plus many more, and are a technology that bears watching with regards to transcription functions.

In the case of on-site proprietary systems, as mentioned above, a well established transcription company will have the capability to access and transport digital sound files. A second method is sometimes possible, in which a transcriptionist may dial into the system and "re-record" into an analog system. A distinct disadvantage to re-recording is that it is performed in real time, i.e. an hour's worth of dictation will take an hour to re-record, and the reduced efficiency is obvious, not to mention the phone charges incurred.

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