20.0.0 Release Notes

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20.0.0 nVoq Dictation, Voice, Administrator, & APIs Release
March 2025 - See Production Deployments for deployment dates.

For release notes for nVoq mobile apps, see:

nVoq Dictation

The updates in this section impact all dictation clients, including nVoq Voice and Mobile Voice, as well as ISV partner clients using nVoq dictation.

  • Fix for Multiple Headers Warning on Dictations - We received reports of a "Multiple headers found" warning message presenting for dictations that otherwise ran correctly. This was due to an inaccurate check of WebM headers by the dictation server. This has been fixed. (D-13614, 11/20/2024, 20.0.0 b3)

  • Fix for 180 Second Timeout Interrupting Active Dictations - We received multiple reports from ISV partners about the 180 second timeout message interrupting active dictations, causing them to stop recording prematurely. Dictations were hitting the 180-second threshold even though they did not actually include 180 seconds of continuous silence. This has been fixed. (D-13645 & D-13640, 1/7/2025, 20.0.0 b33)

  • Multiple Dictations in a Single WebSocket Connection - A single WebSocket connection can now handle multiple dictations. This should improve the workflow for clinicians who frequently dictate multiple short dictations in quick succession, such as in radiology.  (B-17050, 2/19/2025, 20.0.0 b64)  

  • Fix for Ages Returning Incorrectly with Mid-Dictation Commands - In the previous releases, when mid-dictation commands are enabled, ages would return without the normal dashes (e.g. "55yearold" rather than "55-year-old". This has been fixed. (D-13623, 3/3/2025, 20.0.0 b72)

  • Fix for Distorted 8kHz Audio When Sent Over HTTP -  After sending 8kHz PCM audio to the dictation server over HTTP, the audio is distorted when played back and the transcript is incorrect. Sending 8kHz Ogg audio over HTTP works fine, as does sending 8kHz PCM over WebSocket. The ability to send 8kHz PCM audio over HTTP has been fixed. (D-13734, 3/11/2025, 20.0.0 b78)

nVoq Voice

  • Voice Downloaded from Static Web Pages - The voice.exe and voice.msi applications now download using HTML pages instead of Java Server Pages (JSP). There is no change to the user experience. (B-17895, 12/3/2024, 20.0.0 b5)

  • Feedback Buttons Added to Intelligent Formatting SOAP Note - Users of Intelligent Formatting SOAP Notes can now click a thumbs-up or thumbs-down button to submit feedback to nVoq about formatting that was applied to their transcript. Clicking one of the buttons opens a window with a few pre-defined feedback options. Select as many of these options as you want, and/or enter your own observations in the text area also on the window. Feedback may be referenced to help improve future returns. (B-17759, 12/4/2024, 20.0.0 b5)

  • Digital Signature Certificates Added for Easier Whitelisting - In the previous release not all files for Voice were code signed. This caused problems in keeping the application whitelisted after updates. In the 20.0.0 release all necessary files have Digital Signature certificates applied, which will make it easier to keep Voice whitelisted. (B-17932, 12/11/2024, 20.0.0 b15)

  • Intelligent Formatting Feedback Improvement - Internal nVoq product owners will now receive a weekly report of the feedback received from Voice Intelligent Formatting users via email. This will allow us to improve and enhance Intelligent Formatting based on the feedback we receive from clinicians who are actively using it. Please let us know how Intelligent Formatting could be improved for you! (B-17851, 12/20/2024, 20.0.0 b23)

  • Intelligent Formatting Workflow Improvements - Improvements were made to the Intelligent Formatting workflow, which includes the formatting operation now running automatically when you press the F9 key to open the Intelligent Formatting window. If you have the premium version of Intelligent Formatting which includes SOAP Notes the formatting operation runs when you change the drop-down menu at the top of the window to "Clean and Format.” (If "Clean and Format" is already selected on the menu you will need to click the Run Format button to run formatting.) Another change to improve workflow is that the labels on the buttons at the bottom of the window have changed. The "Copy Modified" button is now labeled just, "Copy," the "Update Note with Modified" button is now labeled, "Update Note," and the "Run Format on Modified" button is now labeled simply, "Run Format." The order of the buttons on the tabs has also changed. The Original Text tab now has only one button: Run Format, since you can't use the other two buttons on this tab anyway. The Modified Text tab buttons are now in the order in which you would likely use them, with the most commonly used button on the far right. The order of the buttons is now: Run Format, Copy, and then Update Note. Note Assist will work correctly with Intelligent Formatting now too. Place your cursor into the text area on the Modified Text tab and then press the Note Assist hotkey open Note Assist and check to see if your note includes required information before pasting it back into your application. Finally, a coaching tip that reminds you to double-check the details of your note for accuracy has been added above the buttons at the bottom of the Modified Text tab. Remember that proper documentation protects patients and your license! (B-17898 & B-17886, 1/9/2025, 20.0.0 b33)

  • New Note Assist Failure Responses - A category that fails in a Note Assist audit may now include a statement that explains the category or indicates what information is missing or needs to be added to your note in order for the category to pass. Failure responses appear below the failed category. Adding these responses is an optional configuration that can be added to individual categories by your administrator in nVoq Administrator. (B-18002, 2/28/2025, 20.0.0 b69)

  • Improvement to Error Message When Submitting Too Much Text to Intelligent Formatting - In the previous release, submitting too much text to Intelligent Formatting would cause a 504 error, which was not helpful. The 20.0.0 version of Voice will display a more helpful message stating, "Request timed out. Please try submitting a smaller request." if it is not able to process the amount of text submitted for formatting. The amount of text that can be submitted for formatting is approximately 12,000 words, however this number is also dependent on server workload at the time of formatting. (D-13661, 3/20/2025, 20.0.0 b85)

nVoq Administrator

  • View Organization Properties Added Via API - You can now view properties that have been added for organizations via an external webservice. Each organization has a new Properties tab on the Edit Organization page. This tab lists only properties that were added via API. Those that are configured in nVoq Administrator (such as the Dictation Hotkey for group organizations) are not listed on this tab. The properties listed on this tab can be removed using the Restore Selected button at the bottom of the page. Once properties have been “restored” they are no longer listed on the Properties tab. This will allow you to see properties such as Note Assist delay defaults or audio file type applied which are not configured in nVoq Administrator at this time. (B-17703, 12/20/2024, 20.0.0 b22)

  • Microsoft Azure References Updated to “Entra ID” - References to Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management service previously known as Azure Active Directory have been updated to “Entra ID” in nVoq Administrator. The list view of the Identity Providers page now displays “Entra ID” instead of “AZURE” for the Microsoft SSO provider. The Edit Identity Providers also displays “Entra ID” next to the provider type radio button in the Basic Information section. System-level administrators will also see this change on the Tenants page. (B-17912, 1/7/2025, 20.0.0 b32)

  • Password Requirements Updated for System Accounts and Accounts With an Admin Role - The password strength requirement for System Accounts and accounts with an Administrator Role have changed from “medium” to “strong.”  This means that instead of requiring at least 7 characters and including a letter and number, new passwords must be at least 8 characters long and must include a lowercase letter, an uppercase letter, a number, and a symbol. This new password strength will be enforced when signing in on any nVoq product with an nVoq account that has an Administrator Role. Existing accounts with a medium strength password will still be able to sign in with their same password until the next time the password expires or they choose to change it, whichever comes first.  (B-17878, 1/23/2025, 20.0.0 b45)

  • Fix for Intermittent Audio Playback Issue - An intermittent issue was discovered that could cause issues with dictation audio playback in Review & Correct. This issue has been fixed in the 20.0.0 release. (D13644, 2/10/2025, 20.0.0 b53)

  • New Notification of API Key Expiration - API keys, which are used in conjunction with the nVoq API, expire after one year. Up until this point administrators had to remember on their own when a key was about to expire; there was no reminder that alerted them. In the 20.0.0 release an email will be sent to all administrators with a Customer Administrator role at the tenant level to notify them of an upcoming API key expiration in their tenant. These emails will be sent 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the API key expires. Administrators must be sure to create a new API key and update their application before the key expires so that users can continue to log in. Once a key expires, it is deleted from the system and cannot be restored. (B-17111, 2/11/2025, 20.0.0 b58)

  • New Notification of Identity Provider Token Expiration - Tokens are used with an identity provider to create nVoq accounts that can sign in using SSO. These tokens expire one year after they are created, but administrators have to remember on their own when a token is about to expire; there is no reminder that alerts them…until now. In the 20.0.0 release an email will be sent to all administrators with a Customer Administrator role at the tenant level to notify them of an upcoming identity provider token expiration in their tenant. These emails will be sent 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the token expires. (B-17804, 2/11/2025, 20.0.0 b58)

  • New Intelligent Formatting Designer for Tenant-Level Administrators (PREVIEW ONLY) - A new page called Intelligent Formatting is available in nVoq Administrator for administrators with system-level access, and for tenant-level administrators with early preview access. On the Intelligent Formatting page you can create, edit, test, copy, and delete your own custom Intelligent Formatting designs. The designs created on this page are only visible in Voice and Mobile Voice if clinicians have the premium version of Intelligent Formatting enabled. Design changes in nVoq Administrator are refreshed in Voice and Mobile Voice every 30 minutes. If you are interested in trying out this feature as part of this early preview, reach out to your Customer Success Manager. (B-17885, 2/24/2025, 20.0.0 b64; B-18038, 3/12/2025, 20.0.0 b78; D-13707, 3/14/2025, 20.0.0 b80)

  • New SYSTEM LEVEL Intelligent Formatting Designer - A new page called Intelligent Formatting has been added to the System menu for administrators with system-level access. On the Intelligent Formatting page you can add, edit, test, copy, and delete Intelligent Formatting designs for the entire system. Additional designs created on this page are only visible in Voice and Mobile Voice for clinicians who have premium Intelligent Design. (B-17933, 2/24/2025, 20.0.0 b645)

  • New Failure Response for Note Assist Categories - Note Assist categories can now have optional text that appears in Voice and Mobile Voice after the category name when the category fails in the audit. For example, if a clinical note fails a category labeled “Prognosis Statement,” the failure response could include the actual words that are missing, such as, “Missing ‘prognosis’ or ‘life expectancy’“ or could be more vague such as, “Missing information about life expectancy". It just needs to be 45 characters or less. The idea is to help clinicians understand what information they need to add to their note in order for the audit to pass. You can add failure responses to your Note Assist categories on the Edit Note Assist Category page. The failure responses also appear in nVoq Administrator when testing categories and audits on the Test tab of the Edit Note Assist Category and Edit Note Assist Audit pages. (B-18002, 2/28/2025, 20.0.0 b69)

  • Data Persistence Settings Updated - There is a new section on the Add/Edit Organization page at the group level labeled “Allow use of data for product improvement” where you will now find the settings to allow the use of audio and text to improve accuracy and modeling of nVoq dictation. Previously these settings were under a section on the same page labeled “Data Persistence.” When either of these settings is changed, a popup message now appears to let you know that changing this setting affects text or audio going forward (until the property is changed again). You must select the Yes, change this setting button to confirm your choice, though the settings are not actually updated until you click the Save button at the bottom of the page. The same popup message is presented for these settings on the Update Organizations page for groups, where mass updates to these settings can be made to multiple groups at once. Also on the group Add/Edit Organization page, the name of the “Data Persistence” section has been changed to “Data Retention.” Under this section you will find slightly different labels for each of the settings, including Audio, Text, Dictation Information, Dictation Troubleshooting Data, and Note Assist Transaction Text. These setting names have also been changed on the Update Organizations page for groups. We hope these changes make it more clear what each of these settings does, however if you are still not sure you can always refer to the documentation. (B-17888, 3/4/2025, 20.0.0 b73)

  • New Note Assist Label-Based Category Builder (PREVIEW ONLY) - We’re excited to introduce a new label-based category builder for Note Assist available for administrators with system-level access, and for tenant-level administrators with early preview access. This feature allows you to quickly build audit categories using an intuitive drop-down interface, making it easier than ever to surface key information within clinical documentation. While our existing logic- and word-range–based method remains ideal for edge-case scenarios, this streamlined option simplifies common workflows and accelerates category creation. If you're interested in trying out this new capability, reach out to your Customer Success Manager to get early access. We’re here to support you as you explore and shape how this feature can enhance your audits! (B-17754, 3/12/2025, 20.0.0 b78)

  • Fix for Inability to Edit and Save Pre-19.1 User Accounts - Some of you may have noticed the inability to edit and save user accounts that were created before the 19.1 release that removed SayIt from the Products list on the Edit Account page. The work-around was to make a change to the Products selected for the user’s account (such as checking or unchecking Voice or Mobile Voice) which would allow you to save the account. This action would delete SayIt from the user’s product list, allowing you to edit the account again to undo the change to Products just made and successfully save it again. Going forward that particular account would no longer have the issue. A migration script will run when 20.0.0 is deployed on your system which will delete SayIt from the product list of all accounts in your tenant, so this issue will no longer occur for any accounts. (D-13592, 3/20/2025, 20.0.0 b85)

nVoq APIs

  • Fix for Account Creation API Call Not Including Products in Response - In the previous release the response on the account creation API returned "null" for Product attributes even though they were included in the payload. This makes it impossible to tell if the Products attribute posted as expected without sending another GET call to confirm. This has been fixed. In 20.0.0 the POST call contains the same value as the GET call. No changes were made to API documentation.  (D-13636, 12/6/2024; 20.0.0 b12)  

  • Bug in 20.0.0 WebSocket method:MODIFYDICTATION - The API docs for the new MODIFYDICTATION message says “The requestedBoundaryTime can be used to indicate the time in seconds from the start of audio for the whole session at which the audio stream should switch to the next sub-dictation.” when in actuality you need to treat that time relative to the current sub-dictation. The second modify is going to try to put the break in the audio at 11.5 seconds, counting from the start of the web socket session. To work as intended, 3.1 seconds should be used. This will be fixed in the next release.  (D-13753)