Transcribe a Dictated Operative Note or Surgical Teaching Video
Record a dictated operative note or a surgical teaching video with the browser or mobile recorder, or upload a file you already have, and ScreenApp turns the audio into text. It is built for de-identified dictation, surgical education videos, and training content, not for storing patient records.
ScreenApp is not HIPAA compliant and does not sign a business associate agreement. It also does not connect to an EHR or an operating room system. Do not dictate or upload protected health information: strip patient names, medical record numbers, and other identifying details before you record or upload.
What you get:
- A transcript with speaker identification, in 100+ languages
- custom vocabulary for transcription, so surgical and anatomical terms are recognized
- AI chat with any recording that can draft an operative-note structure as text from the transcript
- chapters with timestamps, useful for splitting a long teaching video by step
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with AI chat on both
How to Transcribe a Surgical Recording
- Record or upload: Dictate the note with the browser or mobile recorder, or upload a de-identified recording (MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, MPG, MPEG, M2V, F4V, MXF or MP3, M4A, MP4A, M4B, AAC, WAV, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, WEBMA, MKA, AC3, EAC3, WV, AMR, DSF, DFF).
- Let it transcribe: The audio converts to text, with speaker labels if more than one person is talking, a few minutes after you stop.
- Review, chat, and export: Read the transcript, ask the AI chat to draft a note structure from it, and export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT.
Accuracy depends on the audio. A close microphone in a quiet room works best; an operating room with equipment noise, masks, and several voices at once will produce more gaps. See how we measure accuracy.
Surgical Procedure Transcription vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Otter.ai | Sonix | Rev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 300 min/month | 30-min trial | 45 min/month (AI) |
| Transcription | Included | Included within the minute cap | Included with the plan, or $10/hour pay as you go | $25.49/mo (AI, billed annually), $1.99/min (human) |
| Custom vocabulary | custom vocabulary for transcription | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| HIPAA compliant | No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Languages | 100+ | 6 | 54+ | Not stated |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.33/month annual | $25/month | $25.49/month annual |
Sources, checked 2026-10-01: Transcription accuracy and languages, screenapp.io/accuracy#languages, ScreenApp pricing, otter.ai/pricing, sonix.ai/pricing, rev.com/pricing
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s free plan caps you at 300 minutes a month, and its site does not state a custom-vocabulary feature for surgical terms. ScreenApp’s free plan is smaller by the minute but includes custom vocabulary and AI chat.
- vs Sonix: Sonix gives a one-time 30-minute trial, then charges $25 a month or $10 an hour pay as you go. ScreenApp’s free plan renews rather than being a one-time trial.
- vs Rev: Rev’s free tier gives 45 AI minutes a month, then charges $25.49/month (billed annually) per minute for an AI transcript or $1.99 per minute for a human one. Neither Otter, Sonix, nor Rev states HIPAA compliance on its own pricing page, so none of the three is a documented alternative for handling patient data either.
Who Uses Surgical Procedure Transcription
Surgeons dictate a de-identified operative note after a case and get a searchable transcript back, instead of typing the note from memory later.
Surgical educators transcribe teaching videos of a procedure so students can search the recording for the step they need instead of scrubbing through the whole video.
Residents review recorded teaching cases and use the transcript to study the sequence of steps and the terms the attending used.
Simulation and skills labs transcribe recordings of practice procedures so trainees and instructors can review what was said during the session.
Medical device trainers transcribe demonstration videos of device use so the written steps can be shared alongside the recording.
Continuing-education producers transcribe recorded surgical talks and case reviews to turn them into written course material.