For Patient Access Representatives ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll be able to transcribe your pre-registration phone calls in real time using Otter.ai. Instead of trying to type and listen at the same time, you'll focus entirely on the patient conversation — then review the transcript afterward to confirm you captured everything before entering it in the EHR.
What you'll need
Go to otter.ai in a web browser or download the Otter.ai app from the App Store or Google Play.
What you should see: You're taken to your Otter.ai home screen — a clean interface with a large orange microphone button and a list of any past recordings.
Troubleshooting: If your hospital's IT policy blocks app downloads, use Otter.ai in a web browser on your personal phone instead.
Before you record any patient call, you must inform the patient that the call may be recorded. This is both a legal requirement in most states and a HIPAA best practice.
Your disclosure can be as simple as: "Just to let you know, this call may be recorded for quality and accuracy purposes."
Do NOT skip this step. Check your hospital's call recording policy before starting — many hospitals already have blanket recording disclosures for patient calls. If yours doesn't, speak with your supervisor first.
What you should see: A live view showing words appearing on screen as you speak or as audio is captured near your phone.
Tip: Place your phone close to where the conversation will happen — on the desk near your headset, or prop it up next to your computer speakers if you use a softphone.
Have your pre-registration call as you normally would. Focus entirely on the patient — you don't need to type anything.
Otter.ai will transcribe both your voice and the patient's voice in real time, labeling each speaker separately (Speaker 1, Speaker 2).
After the call ends, tap the Stop button in Otter.ai. The full transcript will be saved automatically.
What you should see: A scrollable transcript with both speakers labeled, timestamps on each line, and a search bar at the top.
Use the transcript as your reference while entering information into Epic, Cerner, or your EHR. You can leave Otter.ai open on your phone while typing on your computer.
After entering everything, mark the transcript as reviewed in Otter.ai and it will archive automatically.
After getting your transcript, you can paste it into ChatGPT or Claude to summarize it:
Extract key registration data:
From this pre-registration call transcript, extract: patient full name, date of birth, primary insurance name and ID, secondary insurance name and ID, address, phone number, and any medication changes mentioned. Format as a list.
[paste transcript]
Flag missing information:
Review this pre-registration call transcript and identify any required registration fields that were NOT collected or confirmed during the call. List only what's missing.
[paste transcript]