For Hospice Coordinators ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Otter.ai set up on your phone to record and transcribe 2-minute verbal summaries after each patient visit. Instead of spending 30–60 minutes per visit typing notes from memory at home, you'll dictate observations in your car immediately after each visit and have a searchable transcript ready to paste and edit in your EHR.
What you'll need
Open the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android) and search for "Otter.ai." Download and install the app. Open it and tap Sign up — you can use a Google or Apple account, or create one with your work email. Do NOT use your personal email if your agency has HIPAA guidance about cloud services.
What you should see: A clean home screen with a large blue microphone button at the bottom. Troubleshooting: If you can't find Otter.ai, search for "otter voice notes" — the developer name is Otter.ai.
When you first open Otter.ai or start a recording, the app will ask permission to access your phone's microphone. Tap Allow. Without microphone access, the app cannot record.
What you should see: A permission dialog from your phone's operating system.
Tap Account (bottom right) → Settings → Custom Vocabulary. Add common hospice and medical terms that Otter may not know: MatrixCare, Axxess, HCHB, palliative, dyspnea, FAST staging, CTI, IDG, Medicaid, hospice benefit, lorazepam, haloperidol, etc.
What you should see: A text field where you can add words one at a time. Troubleshooting: This feature may be under "Vocabulary" or "Personal Dictionary" depending on your app version.
Tap the large blue microphone button on the home screen. Speak clearly: "This is a test visit summary for patient J.S. She was alert and conversational today. Pain score 3 out of 10, mild. Husband reports she slept better last night. Appetite declined, eating about 25% of meals. No new symptoms. Plan: continue current medications, follow up Thursday." Tap the stop button (square icon).
What you should see: A transcript appearing in real time as you speak, with the words color-coded by speaker.
After stopping, tap the recording to open the full transcript. Tap any word to correct it — misrecognized medical terms are the most common errors. You can also use the search function (magnifying glass) to find specific words.
What you should see: The full transcript with timestamps, a playback slider at the top, and editable text.
Highlight the transcript text (press and hold, then drag), tap Copy, then switch to your EHR app or browser and paste. Edit the copied text to match your EHR's required format and fields.
Use these as a verbal structure for your post-visit dictations: