A system for facilitating free form dictation, including directed dictation and constrained recognition and/or structured transcription among users having heterogeneous protocols for generating, transcribing, and exchanging recognized and transcribed speech. The system includes a system transaction manager having a “system protocol,” to receive a speech information request from an authorized user. The speech information request is generated using a user interface capable of bi-directional communication with the system transaction manager and supporting dictation applications. A speech recognition and/or transcription engine (ASR), in communication with the system transaction manager, receives the speech information request, generates a transcribed response, and transmits the response to the system transaction manager. The system transaction manager routes the response to one or more of the users. In another embodiment, the system employs a virtual sound driver for streaming free form dictation to any ASR.