diff --git a/public/components/encounter.html b/public/components/encounter.html
index 0de9f5a..37139c0 100644
--- a/public/components/encounter.html
+++ b/public/components/encounter.html
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@
           <div class="record-controls">
             <button id="enc-record-btn" class="record-btn"><i class="fas fa-microphone"></i><span>Start Recording</span></button>
             <button id="enc-pause-btn" class="btn-sm btn-ghost hidden" style="margin-left:8px;"><i class="fas fa-pause"></i> Pause</button>
+            <button id="enc-stop-btn" class="btn-sm hidden" style="margin-left:8px;background:var(--red);color:white;border:none;border-radius:8px;padding:7px 16px;cursor:pointer;font-size:13px;"><i class="fas fa-stop"></i> Stop</button>
             <div id="enc-recording-indicator" class="recording-indicator hidden"><div class="pulse-dot"></div><span>Recording... <span id="enc-timer">00:00</span></span></div>
           </div>
         </div>
diff --git a/public/js/app.js b/public/js/app.js
index 2d56d30..6d5e5eb 100644
--- a/public/js/app.js
+++ b/public/js/app.js
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ function speakText(elementId) {
       currentlyReadingId = elementId;
       if (btn) { btn.classList.add('btn-reading'); btn.innerHTML = '<i class="fas fa-stop"></i> Stop'; }
       window.speechSynthesis.speak(utter);
-      showToast('ElevenLabs unavailable — using browser voice', 'info');
+      showToast('TTS unavailable — using browser voice', 'info');
     } else {
       showToast('Read aloud failed: ' + err.message, 'error');
     }
diff --git a/public/js/liveEncounter.js b/public/js/liveEncounter.js
index 979f895..f713bb8 100644
--- a/public/js/liveEncounter.js
+++ b/public/js/liveEncounter.js
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   var hpiText = document.getElementById('enc-hpi-text');
   var modelTag = document.getElementById('enc-model-tag');
 
+  var stopBtn = document.getElementById('enc-stop-btn');
   var recorder = new AudioRecorder();
   recorder._module = 'encounter';
   var timer = createTimer(timerEl);
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@
         recordBtn.classList.add('recording');
         recordBtn.querySelector('span').textContent = 'Stop';
         if (pauseBtn) pauseBtn.classList.remove('hidden');
+        if (stopBtn) stopBtn.classList.remove('hidden');
         indicator.classList.remove('hidden');
         timer.start();
         if (recognition) try { recognition.start(); } catch(e) {}
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@
       recordBtn.classList.remove('recording');
       recordBtn.querySelector('span').textContent = 'Start Recording';
       if (pauseBtn) { pauseBtn.classList.add('hidden'); pauseBtn.innerHTML = '<i class="fas fa-pause"></i> Pause'; }
+      if (stopBtn) stopBtn.classList.add('hidden');
       indicator.classList.add('hidden');
       if (recognition) try { recognition.stop(); } catch(e) {}
       document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('recording-stopped', { detail: { module: 'enc' } }));
@@ -105,6 +108,13 @@
     }
   });
 
+  // Dedicated stop button (always visible during recording)
+  if (stopBtn) {
+    stopBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
+      if (isRecording) recordBtn.click();
+    });
+  }
+
   // Pause / Resume
   if (pauseBtn) {
     pauseBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
diff --git a/src/routes/tts.js b/src/routes/tts.js
index f822a42..26b958b 100644
--- a/src/routes/tts.js
+++ b/src/routes/tts.js
@@ -1,18 +1,17 @@
 const express = require('express');
 const router = express.Router();
 const axios = require('axios');
-const { litellmClient } = require('../utils/ai');
 const { authMiddleware } = require('../middleware/auth');
 
-// TTS_PROVIDER=litellm  → LiteLLM proxy (routes to any OpenAI-compatible TTS)
+// TTS_PROVIDER=litellm   → LiteLLM proxy (Vertex AI TTS, OpenAI TTS, etc.)
 // TTS_PROVIDER=elevenlabs → ElevenLabs (not HIPAA)
 // (auto) LITELLM_API_BASE set → litellm
 // (auto) ELEVENLABS_API_KEY set → elevenlabs
 function getTTSProvider() {
   var env = process.env.TTS_PROVIDER;
-  if (env === 'litellm')   return 'litellm';
+  if (env === 'litellm')    return 'litellm';
   if (env === 'elevenlabs') return 'elevenlabs';
-  if (process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE && litellmClient) return 'litellm';
+  if (process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE) return 'litellm';
   if (process.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) return 'elevenlabs';
   return 'none';
 }
@@ -26,18 +25,24 @@ router.post('/text-to-speech', authMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
     if (!text) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'No text provided' });
 
     if (ttsProvider === 'litellm') {
-      if (!litellmClient) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'LiteLLM not configured. Set LITELLM_API_BASE.' });
+      if (!process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'LITELLM_API_BASE not set.' });
       var ttsModel = process.env.LITELLM_TTS_MODEL || 'tts-1';
-      var ttsVoice = process.env.LITELLM_TTS_VOICE || 'alloy';
-      var mp3 = await litellmClient.audio.speech.create({
+      var base = process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+      var ttsHeaders = { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' };
+      if (process.env.LITELLM_API_KEY) ttsHeaders['Authorization'] = 'Bearer ' + process.env.LITELLM_API_KEY;
+
+      // Send only model + input — voice is configured inside LiteLLM per model
+      var ttsResp = await axios.post(base + '/v1/audio/speech', {
         model: ttsModel,
-        voice: ttsVoice,
-        input: text,
-        response_format: 'mp3'
+        input: text
+      }, {
+        headers: ttsHeaders,
+        responseType: 'arraybuffer',
+        timeout: 60000
       });
-      var buffer = Buffer.from(await mp3.arrayBuffer());
+
       res.set('Content-Type', 'audio/mpeg');
-      return res.send(buffer);
+      return res.send(Buffer.from(ttsResp.data));
     }
 
     if (ttsProvider === 'elevenlabs') {
@@ -55,6 +60,7 @@ router.post('/text-to-speech', authMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
 
     res.status(400).json({ error: 'TTS not configured. Set LITELLM_API_BASE or ELEVENLABS_API_KEY.' });
   } catch (err) {
+    console.error('[TTS] Error:', err.message);
     res.status(500).json({ error: 'TTS failed: ' + err.message });
   }
 });