Best Practices
Dates
For dates between the 1st and 20th of the month, use ordinal numbers when possible.
Example: "October first two thousand twenty-five"
Example: "December tenth two thousand twenty-six"
Times
Include AM or PM when dictating standard times.
Example: "two p m"
Example: "ten thirty a m"
Military Time
For military time, say each number individually.
Use "zero" instead of "oh oh" for the most reliable recognition.
Important Note About Leading Zeros
When dictating military times that begin with zeros, use the word "zero" rather than "oh oh" whenever possible.
For example:
✅ "zero zero twenty two hours" → 0022 hours
⚠️ "oh oh twenty two hours"
The repeated "oh" sounds can blend together, causing recognition issues and potentially resulting in an incorrect time.
Dictating Dates
Say This | Displays |
May twenty-third two thousand eighteen | May 23, 2018 |
May twenty-third twenty eighteen | May 23, 2018 |
five twenty-three twenty eighteen | 5/23/2018 |
five slash twenty-three slash two thousand eighteen | 5/23/2018 |
five dash twenty-three dash two thousand eighteen | 5-23-2018 |
Dictating Standard Times
Say This | Displays |
two p m | 2 p.m. |
ten thirty a m | 10:30 a.m. |
between two p m and five p m | Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. |
Dictating Military Time
Say This | Displays |
zero eight hundred hours | 0800 hours |
oh eight hundred hours | 0800 hours |
zero zero twenty two hours | 0022 hours |
zero zero two two hours | 0022 hours |
fourteen thirty three hours | 1433 hours |
fourteen three three hours | 1433 hours |
one four three three hours | 1433 hours |
zero six fourteen hours | 0614 hours |
zero six one four hours | 0614 hours |
Patient was seen at zero zero thirty six hours | Patient was seen at 0036 hours |
Patient was completely dilated at one eight five zero hours | Patient was completely dilated at 1850 hours |
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