Dragon Naturally Speaking and ICANotes

Dragon Naturally Speaking and ICANotes

Overview

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a speech recognition tool that simulates keyboard input, allowing clinicians to dictate directly into supported software. ICANotes supports Dragon when used in modern, compatible environments.
  1. As of April 22, 2025, ICANotes has tested and approved the following combination:
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 with Dragon Professional 16.10
 
Even if your Dragon version or operating system is not listed above, that does not automatically mean it is incompatible. Because Dragon functions as a virtual keyboard, it can generally be used with any application that accepts standard keyboard input including https://ehr.icanotes.com.
 
Important Compatibility Notes
  1. Dragon acts like a keyboard: If you can type into a field with your physical keyboard, Dragon should also be able to enter text.
  2. ICANotes does not block Dragon input: If Dragon doesn’t work, the issue is likely caused by a third-party program or browser extension.
  3. Common interference sources:
    1. Antivirus or endpoint security software
    2. Pop-up blockers or script filters
    3. Web browser extensions
 

The images were captured with Dragon Naturally Speaking 12, but the functionality of the program (and the Dictation Box) are the same in other versions. 
 

1.  Select the text area within ICANotes where you would like to dictate into.

 
 

2.  Ensure that your Microphone is enabled within Dragon Naturally Speaking and select Tools > Dictation Box.

 
 

3.  Speak into your microphone and Dragon will type out what you are speaking into the Dictation box.

 
 

4.  When your dictation is complete, press the  button. This will transfer the text into the text area you had selected (in step 1) within ICANotes.
 
 

Support Information
 
ICANotes Support does not provide technical troubleshooting for Dragon software. For product-level issues with installation, activation, speech recognition, or configuration:
Contact Nuance Dragon Support directly:
 → https://www.nuance.com/dragon/support.html

If you believe the issue could be with ICANotes, and our internal tests confirm Dragon is working as expected with current configurations, we will be unable to assist further, as the issue likely originates outside of ICANotes.
 

Dragon Medical vs. Dragon Professional
  1. The Dragon Medical version is available, but ICANotes has not found added value in its use over the Dragon Professional 16 edition.
  2. Due to the high price tag of the Medical version, we recommend the standard Dragon Professional 16.x, which has been validated in recent testing.
 
To see a demonstration of using Dragon for Mac, please watch this video (https://youtu.be/WZKVv5bS89Y):