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I asked the following question:

Is there a list of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems that Dragon Professional Individual intentionally do not support?

http://shop.nuance.com/store/nuanceus/Custom/pbpage.dragonProINDV/ (mirror) says:

Note: Does not support dictation into Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. For EMR support, please use Dragon Medical Practice Edition

Is there a list of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems that Dragon intentionally do not support?

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Why was this question closed as ""Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations"?

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  • 1
    Questions about listing product features or limitations are typically closed as product recommendation requests (closest standard reason). It's similar to purchase support information. The answers tend to become obsolete as soon as the next version of the software comes out. How to use or solve a problem with an existing feature is more the intended scope.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:45
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    The only people who can definitively answer the question is Dragon. It is up to them to list which items are specifically supported or not and anything else is just going to be a nearly pointless list of "I tried it with X and it worked" which makes for a very bad set of answers. If you asked where to find such a list then that would definitely be off topic for the reason stated but I think you are skirting the lines as it is.
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:46
  • As pointed out by @bwDraco there is a simple answer to your question: "All of them. It is explicitly forbidden by the terms of their licence​." If anything this would be closed for similar reasons to hackintosh questions, you are using the software in an unsupported and unlicenced manner and as such you are on your own with it.
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:49
  • @Mokubai No you can find the info in the released program.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:42
  • @FranckDernoncourt Do you have access to their code?
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:43
  • @Mokubai compiled version of it.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:43
  • Which falls back to attempting to use it with every type of EMR system you can find, which means you end up with a stupid list of answers saying "it worked with my one" as I mentioned already. Or you buy the version that they are happy for you to use with the systems and they tell you where it will work. They've precluded you using the normal version with those systems and told you what to do if you want support, your question is a moot point.
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:47
  • @Mokubai "which falls back to attempting to use it with every type of EMR system" why?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:51
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    Because the compiled code could be encrypted, or at the very least compressed, meaning you have no way to easily grep it for EMR system names (even if names are used) so you have to literally rub the software against every EMR system you can. Having the code is as near as makes no odds completely useless for working out what it will and won't work on. They might blacklist it or they might not, and it could just work with every software there is, but if someone dies because you used it with an EMR system and it mistyped something they'll just look at you blankly and say "Yeah, and?"
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:04
  • @Mokubai You are making many guesses. Question closure shouldn't be based on guesses.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:09
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    You could try reposting to Health SE. Tag your question carefully, maybe with some "Technology" tag and some "EMR" tag, in hopes that some doctor will see it.
    – unforgettableidSupportsMonica
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 17:09
  • I theorize that Dragon Professional Individual may include a dictionary, and this dictionary may lack medical jargon. You might have to add all your favorite jargon slowly, one word at a time. This might take tons of time. You could buy Dragon Professional Individual, try it, and see how well it works for you. But I'm not sure whether or not Nuance do refunds.
    – unforgettableidSupportsMonica
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 17:11
  • @unforgettableid also different language models.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 3:00
  • @unforgettableid Good point, let's see what Health SE says: What is our stance on questions on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 3:03
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    @unforgettableid - Health also deems it off topic. The base question to ask would be "Would an answer to this question affect/improve the health of an individual or a cohort". In this case there is no way to stretch this to be applicable, it's about software compatibility. Just because it is used in the health industry doesn't automatically mean it's on topic at health.
    – JohnP
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 16:37

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Because it was. You're asking for a list, which generally doesn't fit into the Q&A format, of products not supported by that product. An alternate close reason might be that its too broad

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  • I am asking for a product limitation. where do you see I am asking for a recommendation? Answering "because it was" is useless.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:34
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    You're asking for a list
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:35
  • @FranckDernoncourt In the question title
    – undo
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:35
  • @JourneymanGeek What is the recommendation I am asking?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:36
  • @FranckDernoncourt - You want a list of supported programs. Your question seeking that list, is not a good fit, for Superuser.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 15:50
  • @Ramhound is it a recommendation?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 16:03
  • How do I ask a question that may require recommending software?. Specifically, request for a list, within the reason "Give me a list of pieces of software that do".
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 16:06
  • @Ramhound I'm not asking for "a list of pieces of software that do"
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 19:42
  • @FranckDernoncourt - Your asking for a list of software does not work. Question seeking a list, any list, are not on topic here at Superuser (in my opionion). Such questions are not a good fit for a Q&A website like Superuser. While a good question can have multiple solutions, a question seeking a list, often has far to many answers to be useful.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:34
  • @Ramhound I assume that if someone managed to get the list ( e.g., by asking the customer support, analyzing the program, etc. ), it would be exhaustive and would make a good answer that fits the QA format.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:37
  • @FranckDernoncourt - As i pointed out in my comment. Have you contacted Nuance for the list of applications that do not work?
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:41
  • @Ramhound not yet. It tends to be time-consuming to do so, and as a result I prefer to first ask fellow Dragon Professional Individual users.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:57
  • @FranckDernoncourt - Questions seeking our experiences with a program make poor questions for Superuser.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:58
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    You forgot to read this. Specifically, "To prevent your question from being flagged and possibly removed, avoid asking subjective questions where …there is no actual problem to be solved: “I’m curious if other people feel like I do.". If you still disagree, then "every answer is equally valid:", would cover a list of programs that do/don't work with another application.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 21:06
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    Essentially, questions need to be of reasonably scoped, and typically listy questions are not. And answers would either be "Worked for me" (which can break) or "didn't work for me" which might be unrelated. And essentially you're asking for where documentation - aka learning material is.
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 22:53
9

I don't spend a lot of time here on a regular basis, so I'm mostly happy to defer to the elected moderator team. I thought about this question for a minute, though, and decided to add a concurrence on the issue.

When I think of Super User, the bottom line that comes to mind is "technical problems with a home computer." This question doesn't meet either criterion. First, feature support, at least in this case, is more of a corporate policy sort of thing than a technical glitch or configuration problem that the community can help you to fix or resolve. Second, EMR programs are things you'd see in hospitals, ambulances, doctors' offices... rarely if ever on home computers.

At best, I'd say you have an argument for "question doesn't belong on the site but the explanation for why was not communicated well."

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  • Thanks, where do you see on superuser.com/help/on-topic (mirror) that SU is limited to home computers?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:56
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    The "on-topic" page is for guidelines, not the be-all, end-all absolute list of what is and is not allowed. That said, I did check it before posting this answer. The third on-topic bullet point says "personal and home computer networking," and the fifth "not about" bullet point says "issues specific to corporate IT support and networks."
    – Pops Staff
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 21:14
  • If you really want to keep having this argument, this is the correct venue for doing so, but I wouldn't expect many people to keep having it with you... doesn't seem like a particularly productive use of anyone's time.
    – Pops Staff
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 21:15
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    Good point, I asked What is our stance on questions on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems? to clarify. Just trying to understand the scope.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 21:23
  • According to What is our stance on questions on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems? there is no community consensus saying that EMR systems aren't on-topic.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented May 6, 2017 at 18:25
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I can see some nuance (heh) between asking if there IS a list (which is technically exactly what the title of your question states), and asking FOR a list.

That said, the nuance is only that: nuance. The two are effectively the same. Especially in this case where there actually is an explicit list in Dragon's clear statement that they do NOT support ANY EMR systems with that version of their application.

Extending the question to WHY they have chosen to make their applications or licensing or support work this way is also clearly off-topic for being too broad and open to opinion and personal interpretation.

Added to the other notes on your other Meta question that EMR systems are generally going to find better support elsewhere (with a few exceptions), I concur with those saying that this closure was very and clearly legitimate.

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