Clinic Recording Guide: The Audio Quality Blueprint for Clinicians
If your notes sound like they were recorded in a metal cupboard, your transcript (and your day) will suffer.
Clean signal, clear notes, half the rework
This clinic recording guide is built for clinicians, clinic managers and PA teams who want fewer repeats and faster, safer documentation. You do not need studio gear. Small, practical changes to your room, mic placement and mobile settings can raise your signal-to-noise ratio, reduce transcription errors and give your team cleaner notes on the first pass.
Why a clinic recording guide belongs in every room
Poor audio multiplies work. Blurred consonants hide drug names; HVAC hum masks numbers; echo turns short sentences into mush. When the recording is unclear, humans and speech engines both struggle, and you burn time on corrections and callbacks. A few simple fixes cut those loops, speed up turnaround and reduce risk in your record.
The core principle: make your voice louder than the room
Everything here is about signal-to-noise ratio. Your signal is your voice. Noise is the rest: echo from hard walls, fans, keyboards, corridor chatter, rustling PPE. You win by increasing the signal and reducing the noise. This clinic recording guide shows you how in three moves:
- Shape the room so it doesn’t fight you.
- Put the microphone where your voice is strongest.
- Tune your phone/recorder so it hears detail without distortion.
- Room setup: sixty seconds to tame reflections
You can improve most exam rooms without buying a single panel. Do this quick “sound map.”
Clap once where you usually dictate. A sharp “zing” means hard reflections (glass, tile). A long “boing” means echo. Break those up with soft surfaces and positioning.
Practical tweaks that work today:
Close the door, draw fabric curtains, and add a soft surface under the mic or phone; a folded lab coat works.
Move away from steel trolleys and sinks; face a noticeboard, shelf or curtain instead of a bare wall.
If safe, pause a noisy fan for sixty seconds while you dictate.
Ask colleagues to hold keyboard typing during medication lists.
Corners with fabric or books absorb sound better than the centre of a hard, open room. Think “softer and closer.”
Mic placement: small distances, big differences
Right mic, right place. Consistency beats cost.
Using a smartphone mic
Mount or hold the phone 20–30 cm from your mouth, angled 30–45° off-axis. Don’t lay it flat on a hard desk; a folded cloth under the phone reduces “table boom.”
Using a lapel (lav) mic
Clip at sternum height, two fingers below the collar. Keep the capsule outside mask lines and route the cable under clothing to avoid rustle.
Using a desktop/USB mic
Place it about 30 cm away, slightly below lip height, pointed up toward you. Speak across the capsule, not straight into it. A simple foam windscreen helps with P/B/T pops.
Using a headset boom
Position the tip two finger widths from the corner of your mouth, not in front of it. This keeps breath and mask noise off the recording.
Too close causes harsh clipping. Too far lets the room take over. Mark a spot on the desk or use a small stand so every recording starts from the same geometry.
Mobile settings that lift clarity immediately
Modern phones capture excellent clinical dictation if you choose sensible settings. Set once, then forget.
Format
Use WAV (mono) if allowed; otherwise AAC/M4A (mono) at 256 kbps or higher.
Sample rate
Choose 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Avoid “low quality” or “voice memo” modes.
Input level
Aim for peaks around –12 dB (usually the yellow zone). If the meter hits red, back off the mic or lower input gain.
Interference control
Enable Airplane Mode and Do Not Disturb. Confirm 1–2 GB free storage before clinics.
File naming
Use a predictable, policy-safe pattern:
Clinic_YYYY-MM-DD_VisitType_ClinicianInitials_RefID.wav
If identifiers are restricted, use appointment IDs rather than names.
Security
Transfer via your approved secure channel (SFTP, managed cloud, EMR intake). If policy requires deletion after upload, clear the “Recently Deleted” folder too.
Dictation technique that stays accurate
Great technique makes every minute count (for humans and AI).
Start with a context frame: “Respiratory clinic follow-up, Dr Jones dictating, patient initials AB.” That single line helps resolve sound-alike terms later.
Speak at a steady, conversational pace. Leave a short pause between sections so punctuation is obvious. For drug names or unfamiliar terms, slow slightly and enunciate once; then continue at normal speed.
Numbers cause most corrections. Say “one five” for 15, “one point five” for 1.5. For dates, say “five June twenty-twenty-five.” For doses, say “one hundred milligrams; one-zero-zero.”
If you change a line, say “correction,” pause, then reread the correct sentence. It keeps the edit trail clean.
End with clear headings: “Assessment,” “Plan,” “Follow-up.” This helps PAs and EMR fields slot content without guesswork.
Weekly one-minute check that prevents thirty minutes of rework
Once a week, or after any room change, do a tiny test.
Record: “Test. Normal tone. One two three. Amoxicillin five hundred milligrams. Plan to follow in six weeks.” Play five seconds back.br class=/p><p>Plosives (bursts on P/B)
Angle the mic off-axis and use a foam windscreen.
Clipping (harsh distortion)
Lower input gain or increase distance by a few centimetres.
Cable or clothing rustle
Route lav cables under clothing; anchor the clip to a firm edge; avoid scarves/lanyards touching the mic.
Notification beeps
Airplane Mode + Do Not Disturb, every time.
Three setups from this clinic recording guide
Exam room with hard surfaces
Phone on a small stand over a folded cloth; 20–30 cm from mouth at 30–45° angle; door closed; curtain drawn. Keep a sticky note with your file-naming pattern by the stand.
Shared office
Choose a corner with shelves or noticeboards behind you. Face the absorbent surface. Ask for sixty seconds of quiet during medication lists. Record mono at high quality.
On the move between wards
If permitted, use a lav mic into your phone. Find the quietest nearby alcove. Airplane Mode on. Dictate in short, structured segments: context, findings, plan, follow-up. Upload securely before you walk away.
Privacy and consent: build compliance in
Follow local policy, always.
Record in approved apps/devices. Use secure transfer routes. Keep identifiers out of filenames if required. Delete local copies after confirmed upload where policy dictates. If recording patient speech, ensure consent is captured per your organisation’s rules.
Good audio is only useful if it is compliant.
One-minute checklist (print and pin)
- Room quiet, door closed, soft surface under mic
- Mic/phone at consistent distance, angled off-axis
- Airplane Mode + Do Not Disturb; storage space checked
- High-quality mono; peaks around –12 dB
- Context sentence at start; clear section headings
- Secure upload; confirm; delete local copy if required
What improves in your first week
Teams who adopt this clinic recording guide typically report fewer “can you repeat that?” emails, faster first-pass accuracy on medication lists and shorter time from dictation to filed note. You will feel the difference in your calendar before you see it in a dashboard.
FAQs
Is WAV always better than M4A?
WAV is uncompressed and ideal when storage and policy allow. High-quality AAC/M4A at 256 kbps (mono) performs very well and saves space. Room and mic placement still matter more than format.
Which sample rate should I choose?
Use 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Avoid “low quality” modes.
How close should the mic be?
Phone/desktop mic: 20–30 cm. Headset boom: two finger widths from the corner of your mouth. Lav mic: sternum height.
Can I dictate while masked?
Yes. Keep the mic outside the mask line, slow slightly, enunciate ends of words, and do the quick weekly test.
What if I can’t control the room?
Get closer to the mic, face a soft surface, and add a cloth under the device. Those three changes help even in difficult spaces.
If you would like more information about best practices or a clinic recording guide to improve medical dictation audio quality, reduce transcription errors and ensure microphone placement for clinicians.
We can provide guidance on mobile recording settings for doctors, exam room audio setup and dictation best practices healthcare.
