Voice to Text for Clinical Research Associates
Clinical monitoring demands meticulous documentation under relentless time pressure. Between site visits, query resolution, and sponsor communications, you're typing thousands of words daily while managing complex regulatory requirements across multiple studies. Blurt lets you document naturally by voice while your hands rest. Hold a button, dictate your monitoring visit findings or query responses, release. Text appears wherever your cursor is — in your CTMS, EDC system, email, anywhere. Your clinical expertise flows faster when documentation doesn't slow you down.
The Typing Problem
Writing monitoring visit reports after long site days
You just completed an 8-hour site visit with findings across source document verification, protocol compliance, and regulatory binders. Now you're in your hotel room at 9 PM, facing a blank monitoring visit report template. Every observation needs precise documentation — dates, subject IDs, deviations noted, corrective actions discussed. Your fingers are tired but your memory is fresh. The longer you wait to type, the more details you'll lose. But typing a 15-page report after an exhausting day feels impossible.
Resolving CRF queries with detailed responses
The data management team flagged 47 queries on your study. Each one needs a thoughtful response explaining the discrepancy, referencing source documents, and sometimes requesting site clarification. You know exactly what to write for each query — 'Per source, the adverse event onset date was recorded as 15-Mar-2024, consistent with the subject diary entry on page 23' — but typing these responses one by one takes hours. Your clinical judgment is fast; your keyboard is the bottleneck.
Documenting site communication and follow-up letters
After every visit, you owe the site a follow-up letter summarizing findings and action items. The sponsor wants detailed trip reports. The study manager needs status updates. Each communication requires slightly different framing but similar content. You're essentially retyping the same information in three different formats, burning time that could go toward your next site visit or actually resolving the issues you documented.
Recording protocol deviation documentation in real-time
The site coordinator just told you about an eligibility deviation discovered last week. You need to capture every detail while it's fresh — the subject ID, the deviation category, the timeline of discovery, the corrective action plan. But you're standing at a workstation in a busy clinic, trying to type notes while the coordinator talks. By the time you finish hunting for keys, you've forgotten half of what she said about the root cause.
Managing documentation across multiple concurrent studies
You're monitoring four studies simultaneously. Each has different sponsors, different CTMS platforms, different EDC systems, and different documentation requirements. By Thursday, you've written in Medidata Rave, Veeva Vault, Oracle Clinical, and three different email clients. Your hands ache from constant typing. You dream about documentation. The paperwork load has become unsustainable, but the clinical trial industry runs on documentation. There's no escape from the keyboard — or so you thought.
How It Works
Blurt works in every application clinical research associates use — Medidata, Veeva, Oracle, your CTMS, email clients, anywhere you can place a cursor.
Hold your hotkey
Press your chosen keyboard shortcut. A small indicator confirms Blurt is listening and ready to capture your documentation.
Dictate naturally
Speak your monitoring visit findings, query responses, or site correspondence. Blurt handles punctuation and clinical terminology.
Release and continue
Text appears at your cursor instantly. No copying, no pasting, no app switching. Your documentation grows while your hands rest.
Real Scenarios
Documenting monitoring visit findings
You're writing up source document verification findings from today's visit. Hold the button and speak: 'Verified source documents for subjects 101 through 115. All informed consent forms were signed and dated prior to any study procedures. One discrepancy noted for Subject 108: the adverse event onset date in the CRF was entered as 15-Mar-2024 but the source document indicates 13-Mar-2024. Query generated, site coordinator acknowledged and will submit correction within 5 business days.' Detailed findings documented in 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes of typing.
Responding to CRF data queries
Data management flagged an inconsistency in the lab values. Hold your hotkey and respond: 'Per review of source document, the hemoglobin value of 9.2 g/dL is confirmed correct as recorded in the laboratory report dated 22-Apr-2024. The previous value of 11.8 g/dL was from the screening visit on 01-Apr-2024. The decrease is clinically explainable per investigator assessment as related to study treatment. No protocol deviation.' Query resolved with full clinical context in 20 seconds.
Writing site follow-up letters
The site needs a summary of your monitoring visit. Hold and speak: 'During the monitoring visit conducted on 28-Nov-2024, the following items require action: First, please submit corrected CRF pages for Subject 108 adverse event dates by 05-Dec-2024. Second, please file the updated delegation log in the regulatory binder. Third, please ensure all new staff complete protocol training before conducting study procedures.' Professional follow-up letter dictated in 15 seconds.
Documenting protocol deviations
You discovered a deviation during source verification. Hold the button and document: 'Protocol deviation identified for Subject 203. The 12-week visit was conducted on Day 91, which is outside the plus or minus 3-day visit window specified in the protocol. Root cause: scheduling conflict due to patient travel. No impact on primary endpoint assessment per investigator. Corrective action: site reminded of visit window requirements and will implement calendar alerts.' Complete deviation documentation captured while the details are fresh.
Creating trip reports for sponsors
The sponsor wants a summary of your site visit. Hold and dictate: 'Site visit completed at Investigator Site 042 on 28-Nov-2024. Site is actively enrolling with 23 subjects currently on treatment. Regulatory binder is current. No critical findings identified. Three minor findings documented with corrective actions due within 30 days. Overall site performance rated satisfactory. Next monitoring visit scheduled for January 2025.' Sponsor-ready trip report in 25 seconds.
Drafting site communication emails
The investigator has a question about an adverse event reporting timeline. Hold your hotkey and respond: 'Thank you for your email regarding the serious adverse event for Subject 156. Per the protocol, all SAEs must be reported to the sponsor within 24 hours of site awareness. The event you described qualifies as serious due to hospitalization. Please complete the SAE form and submit via the EDC system today. I am available for a call if you need guidance on the form.' Thorough email response dictated naturally.
Recording meeting notes with site staff
You just finished a call with the site coordinator about enrollment challenges. Hold the button and capture: 'Call with Site 042 coordinator on 28-Nov-2024. Site reports difficulty recruiting patients meeting inclusion criterion 4, the HbA1c requirement. Discussed potential protocol amendment currently under review by sponsor. Site will continue screening eligible patients and maintain screen failure log. Follow-up call scheduled for 12-Dec-2024 to review enrollment status.' Meeting notes documented in real-time.
Why clinical research associates choose Blurt over built-in dictation
| Blurt | macOS Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical terminology | Handles protocol terms, drug names, and regulatory language accurately | Frequently mangles study-specific vocabulary |
| Activation | Single hotkey, instant response | Menu navigation or voice command required |
| Speed | Text appears in under 500ms | Multi-second delay before transcription begins |
| Reliability | Consistent accuracy across long documentation sessions | Accuracy degrades during extended use |
| Privacy | Audio processed securely, not stored after transcription | Uncertain data handling for confidential study information |
Frequently Asked Questions
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