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Up-to-date platform [2008-02-22]
MDI Transcription is awesome.
Hospital Disabling Internet Access for MT's [2008-05-08]
I have a question and hope someone might be able to help me. I work at home as an MT. The company I currently work for does overflow work for a hospital; however, while on the hospital's platform to transcribe their reports, your email and internet are disabled and you cannot access either one - is this legal? I feel like this is an infringement of MY rights, c. It is my equipment, I pay the bills, yet I'm limited - and everyone knows the quickest and easiest way to find something is to look it up on the internet. I can understand the hospital is worried about patient confidentiality, c., but for them to dictate how and when I can use my own computer is ridiculous - like telling me I can drive my car, but can't use the A/C in the middle of a hot and muggy Florida summer! This really burns me up, esp when we don't haveQA and are supposed to send blanks directly to the doctors - who just love to b**ch when you're wrong while we are constantly correcting their mistakes and helping further inflate their over-sized *I* am GOD!!! egos!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
Job openings [2008-02-08]
Can anyone please send me emails on services who have been willing to supply the MT with up to date, state of the art, platforms to work on. I am so sick and tired of starting jobs with services only to find out you have to copy and paste your work from A to B, because of crappy platforms, or if you don't copy and paste, the platforms are so prehistoric, you could type faster on a selectric. I want to work, have 35 years exp in all field. I have invested major money into up to date computers, software, hardware, etc so I can perform my job for the service to the best of my ability - what comanpies have done the same for us? I am looking again - someday I might find that one service who is looking out for us, as well as their pocketbooks. I don't expect to make millions, I dont' mid ESL doctors, or doing OPS or even working weekends, all I ask is respect for our profession and provide us with quality tools to perform out jobs. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED - I hope this posts, I have put many posts on this board, but they are never published ?
VBC- just another way to rip us off. Dowetypereportslikethisnottomentionalltheworkwedonotgetpaidfor! [2007-05-26]
Do we get paid when the doctor changes his mind and redictates? No. Do we get paid extra when the doctor does not dictate the date of exam or the correct one, and we have to dig through 100 patient sheets? No. Do we get paid for looking up the spellings of doctors' names and addresses? No. Does the amount we are now getting paid cover software expenses, AAMT dues, business license, tax accountant, reference books, computers, car expenses for those accounts that insist on tapes that only put 1-2 reports on the tape that do not even cover gas or time spent driving/getting dressed, IT techs, phone lines, template setups, training other MTs, call-in systems, transcribers, foot pedals, office rent, medical expenses related to work injuries, paid time of when seeing a doctor for these injuries, surgeries, etc.? Not hardly. I have 7 years of experience working over 120 hours a week, 7 days a week and make less per line than the first 2 weeks I was interning in college. Jeesh, we have to hit the space bar to separate words. If you have radiculopathies as bad as I do, each keystroke hurts like heck, and I should get paid for it. Unfortunately, I cannot say space to my computer, and it magically puts it in. Just for once, instead of the doctors cutting our paycheck, why not going after the overpaid HIM department who came up with this hairbrain idea!!! They are on salary. It does not cost them money to go to the bathroom, yet everytime we take our hands off the keyboard, we pay! How would the HIM department like to read their reports like this? Laboratorydata:Completebloodcountstodayevealawhitebloodcellcountof,000/mm3,hemoglobin of2.3gm/dL,andaplateletcountof93,000/mm3.
I say they can pick up my medical bills, which in the last 2 years were over $3 million with us paying over $90,000. Did I remember to include all the money it costs in lost work to apply for a job only to get ripped off on your paychecks or have them pay so late that after late fees, there is nothing left. Oh yeah, advertising, websites, e-mail accounts, FTP, cell phone, fax lines, equipment, equipment, equipment.
CBay to purchase Spheris? [2006-10-11]
Is it true due to Spheris' increasing debt the last two quarters,in part due to a difficult platform, has made them a target for CBay? Will Spheris become a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary at some point? The cost savings to this financially distressed company could be too good to pass up.
DocQment(TM) Ovation - MedQuist Launches Next-Generation [2006-07-07]
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today's healthcare providers face what appear to be several conflicting challenges in the area of dictation. Pressures to decrease costs and improve productivity must be weighed against the need to demonstrate compliance and increase physician choice and satisfaction. To help its customers meet these challenges, Medquist Inc. (Pink Sheets: MEDQ) has introduced DocQment(TM) Ovation, a Web-based, enterprise digital voice capture and transport solution.
Studies by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (http://www.himss.org/) have shown that when considering the purchase of a new dictation system, providers value HIPAA compliance most highly, followed by Web-based, centralized administration and automatic document routing. Because Ovation is Web-based, it offers easy-to-use tools to manage documents, users and workflow from any computer with Internet access, creating numerous opportunities for productivity improvement. Physicians can select from a variety of options for capturing their dictation, including telephones, PDAs, and desktop computer-based dictation devices.
DocQment Ovation is our newest technology innovation developed in direct response to industry feedback and providers' interest in replacing previous- generation dictation systems, says Scott Bennett, MedQuist senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. An integral component of our growing technology portfolio, Ovation helps to provide an end-to-end solution from dictation to billing, including front-end and back-end speech recognition.
Document Ovation was specifically engineered to be compatible with MedQuist's previous-generation dictation stations, thus facilitating the retention and recruitment of transcriptionists, and making it easy for providers to upgrade with little or no physician retraining required. Deployed at the customer's location, Ovation provides an enterprise view that allows transcription supervisors to easily manage users, documents and voice files from a single dashboard instead of using multiple systems. Ovation's sophisticated configuration options enable administrators to easily track work and share resources in order to get the right document to the right Transcriptionist at the right time.
According to Emmy Weber, MedQuist vice president of Product Management, Breakthrough capabilities engineered into DocQment Ovation, like the ability to define the date that begins the aging process for documents (including admit date and date of discharge), give users better information at the point of dictation to improve workflow, accuracy and report routing.
With MedQuist's help, we configured DocQment Ovation around the way we do business, says Wanda Newton, HIM director at Maury Regional Healthcare System, a three-hospital system located in Tennessee. With Ovation, we are now managing our hospitals and departments more efficiently. We saw a 34 percent increase in productivity in the first two months of use of Ovation, a positive trend that we expect will continue.
Ovation is available for immediate installation. For more information, contact a local MedQuist representative or dial 1-877-489-1500 for sales assistance.
MedQuist, a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leading provider of clinical documentation workflow solutions in support of the electronic health record. MedQuist provides electronic medical transcription, health information and document management products and services, including digital dictation, speech recognition, Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding, mobile dictation devices, and outsourcing services.
CBaySystems Introduces CBayFlo VoiceDirect [2006-07-07]
ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- CBaySystems Services, Inc., one of the industry's fastest-growing providers of medical transcription solutions, today announced the general availability of CBayFlo VoiceDirect -- its own automated digital dictation and voice capture system.
Using CBayFlo VoiceDirect, everyone involved in the medical transcription process -- physicians, HIMs, and transcriptionists -- is able to take advantage of greater speed, quality and security, from capture, to review, to transcription, to approval, to records management and archiving.
At its core, CBayFlo VoiceDirect enables physicians to dictate into any digital recording device -- a PDA, tablet PC, desktop or phone -- and have it securely captured for transcription. Highly accurate, and featuring natural language processing, it eliminates the time and cost of manually transcribing recorded dictation.
With the introduction of CBayFlo VoiceDirect, hospitals who are dependent on expensive, proprietary dictation systems from Dictaphone, DVI, and Lanier can enjoy new freedom and flexibility. CBayFlo VoiceDirect incorporates the same features and quality at a significantly lower price. At the same time, it is built on an open technology platform that allows it to interface with legacy Dictaphone, DVI, Lanier and home-grown systems. This allows a smooth migration path (with zero training) as well as easy integration with other HIM systems.
By developing our own technology, we're able to seamlessly integrate the power of voice into every component of our CBayFlo platform, said Christopher Foley, President of CBaySystems Services. Our commitment to RD means we're no longer reliant on a third party system, and can deliver more of the benefits from this powerful technology -- and significant savings -- directly to our customers.
Some of the specific benefits of CBayFlo VoiceDirect include:
* High security and voice quality -- resulting in better quality records,
and easier workflow
* Compliance with the latest HIPAA regulations and technologies
* Customized/advanced reporting capabilities, through a secure web portal:
making it easy for HIMs to review and manage the entire workflow process
Part of a Comprehensive CBayFlo Technology Suite
CBayFlo VoiceDirect is just one of the components of the CBayFlo System -- a fully-integrated technology platform that manages medical transcription records at every stage of their lifecycle, from dictation and scheduling, through transcription, editing, web-based management, and long-term archiving.
Unlike other systems that force hospitals into a fixed process, CBayFlo is flexible and customizable to work the way you want to work. All processes and workflows can be configured to your exact business and information/reporting requirements.
Specific components of this powerful technology platform include:
* CBayFlo DocView: advanced document viewing/editing/reporting
* CBayFlo VoiceRecord: software for PDAs and digital recorders that allows voice to be uploaded to the web, and offloaded to a dictation server for transcription
* CBayFlo eDemographics: an HL7 interface engine to exchange data with other HIM and patient records
* CBayFlo Enterprise Document Manager: hospitals can manage and track the transcription process through a web-based portal
-- CBayFlo DocuTrack: real-time updates of the status of each record and file
-- CBayFlo DocView: document view/edit
-- CBayFlo E-signature: document e-sign
-- CBayFlo DocXchange: an HL7 compatible interface engine
As an ASP application (no additional hardware or software is required for the hospital to purchase), CBayFlo is extremely secure and reliable, with multiple levels of redundancy incorporated into its standard architecture.
The CBayFlo platform represents an important component of the WorldClass Advantage we deliver to our customers every day, noted Foley. By providing advanced technology, hospitals and physician practices can significantly reduce costs and save time -- allowing them to devote more resources to improving patient care.
MedQuist Announces Unaudited Financial Results, 6 Million in Operating Loss [2006-05-11]
MT. LAUREL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2006--MedQuist Inc. (Pink Sheets: MEDQ.PK) announced today certain preliminary, partial and unaudited financial results, and provided updated information regarding previously-announced litigation and governmental investigations and proceedings. Once the Company completes the financial assessment and review of its billing practices disclosed in the Company's previous filings with the SEC, KPMG LLP, the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, will complete the audit the Company's financial statements. The Company is continuing the process of working toward becoming current in its periodic reports pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company's review of its current and prior period unaudited financial statements, as well as KPMG LLP's audits for those periods, may identify adjustments or reclassifications which may be reflected in the periods to which they relate. At this time, the Company cannot estimate the total costs of (i) the billing review, (ii) defense of the class action matters, (iii) the SEC investigation, and (iv) compliance with the Department of Justice investigation, all of which have been previously disclosed in either the Company's filings with the SEC or the Company's press releases. Accordingly, the only costs related to the defense of these matters that have been included in the results below are actual costs incurred through March 31, 2006 by the Company. Because the completion of the billing review and resolution of the litigation and governmental investigatory matters are pending, the Company is not certain whether any changes to the accounting treatment of any component of its consolidated financial statements will be required and, if any changes are necessary, whether any such changes would have a material impact on its current or prior period consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, the financial information set forth below is preliminary, unaudited, and subject to change based on the completion of the financial assessment and review of the Company's billing practices, resolution of the class action matters and governmental investigations and proceedings, and the completion of the review and/or audit of its financial statements, as appropriate.
The financial information and related narrative discussion set forth below is derived from the Company's internal books and records. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the financial information presented below. As a result of the developments described above and in the Company's previous SEC filings, the Company's financial statements have not been audited or reviewed by KPMG LLP, its independent registered public accounting firm. The financial information contained in this press release also has not been audited or reviewed by an independent registered public accounting firm. Such information is not a substitute for the information required to be reported in the Company's Forms 10-K and Forms 10-Q that have not yet been filed. There can be no assurance that the results of the billing review, and resolution of the litigation and governmental investigatory matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's revenue, results of operations and financial condition.
Legal Proceedings
Investigations and Proceedings Commenced by the SEC and the Department of Justice
As previously announced, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) is currently conducting a formal investigation of the Company. The Company will continue to fully cooperate with the SEC.
As previously announced, the Company received an administrative HIPAA subpoena for documents from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts on December 17, 2004. The subpoena sought information primarily about the Company's provision of medical transcription services to governmental and non-governmental customers. The information was requested in connection with a government investigation into whether Medquist and others violated federal laws in connection with the provision of medical transcription services. MedQuist continues to cooperate fully with the Department of Justice.
Shareholder Securities Litigation
As previously announced, a shareholder putative class action lawsuit was filed against the Company in the United States District Court District of New Jersey on November 8, 2004. The action, entitled William Steiner v. MedQuist, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:04-cv-05487-FLW (the Shareholder Putative Action), was filed against the Company and certain former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of all persons who purchased MedQuist common stock during the period from April 23, 2002 through November 2, 2004, inclusive (the Class Period). The complaint specifically alleged that defendants violated federal securities laws by purportedly issuing a series of false and misleading statements to the market throughout the Class Period, which statements allegedly had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities. The complaint asserts claims under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, thereunder. Named as defendants, in addition to the Company, were its former president and chief executive officer and its former executive vice president and chief financial officer.
On August 16, 2005, a First Amended Complaint in the Shareholder Putative Class Action was filed against the Company in the United States District Court District of New Jersey. The First Amended Complaint named additional defendants, including certain current and former directors, certain former Company officers, the Company's former and current external auditors and Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips). Like the original complaint, the First Amended Complaint asserted claims under Sections 10b and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act) and Rule 10b5 of the Act. The Class Period of the original complaint was expanded 20 months and now includes the period from March 29, 2000 through June 14, 2004. Pursuant to an October 17, 2005 consent order approved by the Court, Lead Plaintiff Greater Pennsylvania Pension Fund filed a Second Amended Complaint on November 15, 2005. The Second Amended Complaint dropped Philips as a defendant, but alleges the same claims and the same purported class period as the First Amended Complaint. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. Pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, discovery in the action is stayed pending the filing and resolution of the defendants' motions to dismiss, which were filed on January 17, 2006, and will be fully briefed by May 26, 2006. The Court has not set a hearing date on the motions. The Company believes that the claims asserted in the Second Amended Complaint are without merit, and is vigorously defending the action.
Customer Litigation
As previously announced, a putative class action was filed in the United States District Court Central District of California. The action, entitled South Broward Hospital District, dba Memorial Regional Hospital, et al. v. MedQuist, Inc. et al., Case No. CV-04-7520-TJH-VBKx, was filed on September 9, 2004 against the Company and certain present and former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of non-Federal governmental hospitals and medical centers that the complaint claims were wrongfully and fraudulently overcharged for transcription services by defendants based primarily on the Company's use of the AAMT line billing unit of measure discussed below. The complaint charges fraud, violation of the California Business and Professions Code, unjust enrichment, conversion, negligent supervision and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Plaintiffs seek damages in an unspecified amount, plus costs and interest, an injunction against alleged continuing illegal activities, an accounting, punitive damages and attorneys' fees. Named as defendants, in addition to the Company, were a senior vice president, its former executive vice president of marketing and new business development, its former executive vice president and chief legal officer, and its former executive vice president and chief financial officer.
On December 20, 2004, the Company and individual defendants filed motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue, or in the alternative, to transfer the putative action to the United States District Court District of New Jersey. On February 2, 2005, plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint both adding and deleting named plaintiffs in an attempt to keep the putative action in the United States District Court Central District of California. On March 30, 2005, the United States District Court Central District of California issued an order transferring the putative action to the United States District Court District of New Jersey.
On August 1, 2005, the Company and the individual defendants filed their respective Answers denying the material allegations contained in the Second Amended Complaint. On August 31, 2005, the Company and individual defendants filed motions to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim and a motion to dismiss in favor of arbitration, or in the alternative, to stay pending arbitration. On December 12, 2005, the plaintiffs filed an Amendment to the Second Amended Complaint. On December 13, 2005, the Court issued an order requiring plaintiffs to file a Third Amended Complaint.
Plaintiffs filed the Third Amended Complaint on January 4, 2006. The Third Amended Complaint expands the claims made beyond issues arising from contracts based on AAMT line billing and beyond customers billed based on an AAMT line, alleging that the Company engaged in a scheme to inflate customers' invoices without regard to the terms of individual contracts and even in the absence of any written contract. The Third Amended Complaint also limits plaintiffs' claim for fraud in the inducement of the agreement to arbitrate to the three named plaintiffs whose contracts contain an arbitration provision and a subclass of similarly situated customers. On January 20, 2006 the Company and individual defendants filed motions to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim and a motion to compel arbitration of all claims by the arbitration subclass and to stay the case in its entirety pending arbitration. On March 8, 2006 the Court held a hearing on these motions, and took the matter under submission. The Court has not yet ruled on the motions. The Company believes that the claims asserted have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the putative action.
Medical Transcriptionist Litigation
Hoffmann Putative Class Action
As previously announced, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against the Company in the United States District Court Northern District of Georgia. The action, entitled Brigitte Hoffmann, et al. v. MedQuist, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:04-CV-3452, was filed with the Court on November 29, 2004 against the Company and certain current and former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of current and former employees and statutory workers of MedQuist, who are or were compensated on a per line basis for medical transcription services (the Class Members) from January 1, 1998 to the time of the filing of the complaint (the Class Period). The complaint specifically alleged that defendants systematically and wrongfully underpaid the Class Members during the Class Period. The complaint asserted the following causes of action: fraud, breach of contract, demand for accounting, quantum meruit, unjust enrichment, conversion, negligence, negligent supervision, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations. Plaintiffs sought unspecified compensatory damages, punitive damages, disgorgement and restitution. On December 1, 2005, the Hoffmann matter was transferred to the United States District Court District of New Jersey. As discussed immediately below under the heading Myers Putative Class Action, the Company believes that the claims presently asserted have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the putative action.
Myers Putative Class Action
As previously announced, a putative class action entitled, Myers, et al. v. MedQuist Inc. and MedQuist Transcriptions, Ltd., Case No. 05CV 4608 (JBS), was filed against the Company on September 22, 2005 in the United States District Court District of New Jersey. The action was brought on behalf of a putative class of MedQuist's employee and independent contractor transcriptionists who claim that they contracted with the Company to be paid per AAMT line, but were allegedly underpaid due to intentional miscounting of the number of characters and lines transcribed. The named plaintiffs asserted claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and request an accounting.
The allegations contained in the Myers case are substantially similar to those contained in the Hoffmann putative class action and the two actions have now been consolidated. A consolidated amended complaint was filed on January 31, 2006. The named plaintiffs assert claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and demand an accounting. On March 7, 2006 the Company filed a motion to dismiss all claims in the consolidated amended complaint. The motion has now been fully briefed. The Court has not set a hearing date on the motion. The Company believes that the claims asserted in the consolidated actions have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the suit.
Derivative Litigation
On October 4, 2005, the Company announced the dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder derivative action filed in United States District Court District of New Jersey. The suit, Rhoda Kanter (Plaintiff) v. Hans M. Barella et al. (Defendants), was filed on November 12, 2004 against Philips and ten current and former members of MedQuist's Board of Directors. MedQuist was named as a nominal defendant.
In a ruling dated September 21, 2005, the Court found Plaintiff's allegations that MedQuist's Board members breached their fiduciary duties to the Company to be insufficient. The Plaintiff had alleged that for a period from 2001 through 2004, the Defendants violated their fiduciary duties by permitting artificial inflation of billing figures; failing to adequately ensure accurate and lawful billing practices; and failing to accurately report the Company's true financial condition in its published financial statements. To the contrary, the Court concluded: Far from alleging facts supporting a substantial likelihood of liability, Plaintiff here has painted a picture of a board of directors that acted responsively given the circumstances . . . . On October 3, 2005, plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration of the Court's order dismissing the action with prejudice. On November 16, 2005, the Court denied Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration. On December 13, 2005, Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
On March 21, 2006, Plaintiff filed her opening brief on appeal. On April 20, 2006, MedQuist and the other defendants filed their opposition briefs. The appeal will be fully briefed by May 4, 2006. The Court of Appeals has not set a hearing date for the appeal.
Customer Accommodations
As previously disclosed, the primary allegations in a number of the litigation matters relate to how the Company interpreted the AAMT line billing unit of measure. The AAMT line billing unit of measure was developed in 1993 through a collaboration among several industry organizations with the intent of providing standardization in industry billing practices. However, due to inherent ambiguities in the definition of this unit of measure not fully anticipated at the time of its introduction, AAMT line-based billing was applied inconsistently throughout the medical transcription industry and eventually renounced by the groups initially responsible for its development. Despite these issues, a number of companies in the industry have continued to use AAMT line-based billing, and some customers still request proposals and contracts based on the AAMT line.
Like many medical transcription service providers, MedQuist once used the AAMT line unit of measure to calculate invoices for many of its medical transcription clients. It has been widely recognized and well documented throughout the industry, however, that the AAMT definition of a line is inherently ambiguous and subject to a wide variety of interpretations. In fact, no single set of AAMT characters was ever defined for this unit of measure. Accordingly, MedQuist began the process in 2004 of transitioning its AAMT line-based customers off the AAMT line unit of measure and, in April 2005, the Company completely eliminated the use of the AAMT line for billing and called on other industry transcription providers to follow its lead.
Due to these AAMT line unit of measure ambiguities, and the disparity in its interpretation, health care providers have raised concerns regarding charges for transcription services by their respective transcription providers, including the Company. In response to those concerns, and to foster ongoing business relationships with its customers, the Company has approached certain customers and offered to resolve any issues related to their prior AAMT line and other billing related issues.
As previously disclosed, the Company's Board of Directors has authorized Company management to make accommodation offers, up to an aggregate amount of $65.0 million, to certain customers to resolve any concerns over AAMT and other billing related issues. As of March 31, 2006, (i) the Company has entered into agreements with certain customers who have accepted accommodation offers to resolve concerns over AAMT and other billing related issues, and paid or credited an aggregate amount of $31.3 million as an accommodation to those customers and (ii) additional accommodation offers have been made by the Company to certain other customers in the aggregate amount of $11.9 million. From April 1, 2006 through the date of this release, the Company has entered into agreements with additional customers and paid or credited an aggregate amount of $2.9 million and has extended accommodation offers to additional customers in the aggregate amount of $1.1 million. Company management currently intends to make additional accommodation offers in the future, consistent with the Board's authorization described above, although the timing and amount of such offers have not yet been determined and the Company's plans may change in the future. The accommodation offers do not represent an estimate of potential liability, if any, in any of the previously disclosed litigation or investigatory matters pending against the Company.
The Company is unable to predict how many customers, if any, will accept the outstanding accommodation offers on the terms proposed by the Company, nor is the Company able to predict the timing of the acceptance (or rejection) of any of these outstanding accommodation offers. Until such offers are accepted, the Company may withdraw or modify the terms of the accommodation offers at any time. In addition, the Company is unable to predict how many of the future offers, if made, will be accepted on the terms proposed by the Company. The Company believes that its existing cash resources and cash flows from operations are sufficient to fund all of the customer accommodation offers it may make.
By accepting the Company's accommodation offers, the customer must agree, among other things, to release the Company from any and all claims and liability regarding prior AAMT and other billing related issues. The accommodation offers made to date, and those offers which may be made in the future, are not an admission of liability by the Company of any wrongdoing or an admission or acknowledgement that its billing practices with respect to such customers were or are incorrect. MedQuist Inc. -- Preliminary and Unaudited Financial Information
(in millions)
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Three months ended
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March 31, 2006 March 31, 2005
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Revenues $ 97 $ 108
Operating loss $ (8) $ (2)
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As of As of
March 31, 2006 December 31, 2005
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Cash $ 164 $ 178
Debt $ - $ -
Three Months Ended March 31, 2006
Revenues:
Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenues decreased $11 million to $97 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006 from approximately $108 million for the comparable 2005 period. This decline in revenues is largely due to decreases in transcription outsourcing services and product sales of $9 million or 10%, and $2 million or 27%, respectively. The decline in transcription outsourcing revenues is largely due to a decrease in the volume of lines transcribed primarily related to clients for whom we no longer provide transcription services. Additionally, pricing pressures continued on the base transcription business during the first quarter 2006, but revenues were impacted far less by pricing pressures than in the comparable 2005 period. Management expects that pricing pressures will continue for the foreseeable future but that the introduction of several new sales initiatives and improved customer service programs should cause transcription volume to stabilize or improve throughout the duration of 2006.
Operating Loss:
Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that our operating loss increased $6 million to a loss of approximately $8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006 from an operating loss of $2 million for the comparable 2005 period. The operating loss of $8 million was primarily attributable to $9 million of costs associated with the following: (1) costs related to the ongoing billing review including (i) legal fees incurred in connection with governmental investigations and proceedings and defense of the class action matters and (ii) non-legal professional fees; and (2) increased expenses related to prior years' accounting reviews and audit. Operating loss was also impacted by the $11 million decline in revenues over the same period.
Balance Sheet Highlights:
As of March 31, 2006, the Company had $164 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt. The $14 million decrease in cash as of March 31, 2006 compared with December 31, 2005 was primarily attributable to accommodation payments ($10 million) and capital expenditures ($4 million). There were no issuances of capital stock or other securities for the three months ended March 31, 2006.
The Company expects to incur significant costs and expenses in the future relating to the ongoing billing review, defense of the class action matters and governmental investigations and proceedings, and accommodation agreements. These costs and expenses include (i) legal fees relating to the SEC and Department of Justice investigations and proceedings, (ii) legal fees relating to defense and resolution of the litigation matters described above, (iii) customer accommodation payments and credits, and (iv) non-legal professional fees. The timing and level of these costs and expenses is, in many cases, not within the Company's control. While the Company is unable to predict the timing and level of these costs and expenses, the Company currently believes that it has sufficient resources, including cash on hand and cash flow from operations to fund these costs and expenses. However, there cannot be any assurance that unanticipated changes in the level of these costs will not exceed the Company's available cash resources, nor can there be any assurance that sufficient financing from external sources will be available to the Company on acceptable terms, if at all. In the event that the Company's cash requirements exceed its available cash resources, or if the timing of such costs and expenses requires the Company to divert cash resources away from operations, the Company may not be able to execute its operating plan, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and results of operations.
Other Developments
Restructuring:
As previously disclosed, in conjunction with the Company's movement to a single national service and support organization, a restructuring plan was developed in 2005 to consolidate approximately forty-eight (48) operating facilities and centralize certain components of the business in order to improve operating efficiencies. The Company is expecting to incur total restructuring costs of up to $8.5 million associated with this plan through the end of the fourth quarter of 2006. The Company incurred $1 million of restructuring costs for the three months ended March 31, 2006. This restructuring is expected to generate annualized savings of approximately $18.5 million. The Company realized approximately $1.9 million in savings during the three months ended March 31, 2006. Specifically, the Company has shifted resources to a single national service delivery and support organization for all of the Company's services and products and is in the process of eliminating local service centers.
The plan does not contemplate reductions of, and the Company has no current intentions to reduce, its medical transcription workforce. Rather, the Company will continue in its efforts to hire additional qualified transcriptionists. Further, although the Company is consolidating its local service centers as described above, customer-facing teams, led by account managers, will continue to coordinate customer support on the local level. The customer-facing teams will continue to work with and be supported by the Company's centrally managed customer service organization.
Scribe Healthcare Technologies Exceeds 6,000 Users [2006-04-20]
Scribe Healthcare Technologies, a leading healthcare technology company based in the Chicago area, today announced growth has exceeded 6,000 users. Scribe platform users include physicians, clinicians, administrative personnel, and transcriptionists.
Lake Forest, IL (PRWEB) April 20, 2006 -- Scribe Healthcare Technologies, a leading healthcare technology company based in the Chicago area, today announced growth has exceeded 6,000 users. Scribe platform users include physicians, clinicians, administrative personnel, and transcriptionists.
“Until recently our growth has been primarily organic, selling to hospitals and profit driven medical practices. In 2005 we started targeting Medical Transcription Service Organizations (MTSOs) using our technology to run their businesses. Now with the launch of a joint venture “in2scribe”, we hope to become the foremost industry resource for MTSOs.” says Vice President of Sales Marketing, John Weiss. “As a result our growth rate continues to ramp.”
Scribe technologies are modular and Web-based, leveraging the Internet and standard Microsoft applications. Scribe offers a variety of technologies that help MTSO manage their business, recruit and train transcriptionists.
About Scribe Healthcare Technologies, Inc.Scribe Healthcare Technologies is a privately-held healthcare technology company based in the Chicago area. The company has developed a proprietary web-based platform that complements and extends the value for patient registration, Practice/Hospital Management and EMR Solutions. Scribe’s platform includes complete solutions for dictation, transcription, document management, EMR-Lite, Web portal, online prescriptions and reporting with data analytics.
Scribe serves more than 6,000 users. Business partners and resellers include consulting firms, transcription companies, and business process outsourcers. Additional information is available at www.scribe.com.
About in2scribeIn April 2005, the owners of Scribe Healthcare Technologies, EFD Transcription Services, and PENATCLE Electronic Records and Systems fulfilled their dream to create a network that would pull together resources to help to improve the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of the highly fragmented, mid-sized medical transcription firms.
Utilizing the talents and experience of our members, a common technology infrastructure, and a central management point, in2scribe offers a menu of services to our members including new profit centers, benefit plans, level-loading of your work load, and more. More information is available at www.in2scribe.com.
MedQuist Announces Preliminary, Partial and Unaudited [2006-01-19]
MT. LAUREL, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 19, 2006 -- Medquist Inc. (Pink Sheets: MEDQ.PK) announced today certain preliminary, partial and unaudited financial results, and provided updated information regarding previously-announced litigation and governmental investigations and proceedings. Once the Company completes the financial assessment and review of its billing practices disclosed in the Company's previous filings with the SEC, the Company expects that KPMG LLP, its independent registered public accounting firm, will review and/or audit the Company's financial statements, as appropriate. The Company is continuing the process of working toward becoming current in its periodic reports pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company's review of its current and prior period unaudited financial statements, as well as KPMG LLP's audits for those periods, may identify adjustments or reclassifications which may be reflected in the periods to which they relate. At this time, the Company cannot estimate the total costs of (i) the billing review, (ii) defense of the class action matters, (iii) the SEC investigation, and (iv) compliance with the Department of Justice investigation, all of which have been previously disclosed in either the Company's filings with the SEC or the Company's press releases. Accordingly, the only costs related to the defense of these matters that have been included in the results below are actual costs incurred through December 31, 2005 by the Company. As described in the Customer Accommodations discussion under the heading Legal Proceedings, an accrual has been made in an amount up to which the Company's Board of Directors has authorized the Company to make accommodation offers to certain of its customers. Because the completion of the billing review and resolution of the litigation and governmental investigatory matters are pending, the Company is not certain whether any changes to the accounting treatment of any component of its consolidated financial statements will be required and, if any changes are necessary, whether any such changes would have a material impact on its current or prior period consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, the financial information set forth below is preliminary, unaudited, and subject to change based on the completion of the financial assessment and review of the Company's billing practices, resolution of the class action matters and governmental investigations and proceedings, and the completion of the review and/or audit of its financial statements, as appropriate.
The financial information and related narrative discussion set forth below is derived from the Company's internal books and records. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the financial information presented below. As a result of the developments described above and in the Company's previous SEC filings, the Company's financial statements have not been audited or reviewed by KPMG LLP, its independent registered public accounting firm. The financial information contained in this press release also has not been audited or reviewed by an independent registered public accounting firm. Such information is not a substitute for the information required to be reported in the Company's Forms 10-K and Forms 10-Q that have not yet been filed. There can be no assurance that the results of the billing review, and resolution of the litigation and governmental investigatory matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's revenue, results of operations and financial condition. Legal Proceedings Investigations and Proceedings Commenced by the SEC and the Department of Justice As previously announced, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) is currently conducting a formal investigation of the Company. The Company will continue to fully cooperate with the SEC. As previously announced, the Company received an administrative HIPAA subpoena for documents from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts on December 17, 2004. The subpoena sought information primarily about the Company's provision of medical transcription services to governmental and non-governmental customers. The information was requested in connection with a government investigation into whether MedQuist and others violated federal laws in connection with the provision of medical transcription services. MedQuist continues to cooperate fully with the Department of Justice. Shareholder Securities Litigation As previously announced, a shareholder putative class action lawsuit was filed against the Company in the United States District Court District of New Jersey on November 8, 2004. The action, entitled William Steiner v. MedQuist, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:04-cv-05487-FLW (the Shareholder Putative Action), was filed against the Company and certain former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of all persons who purchased MedQuist common stock during the period from April 23, 2002 through November 2, 2004, inclusive (the Class Period). The complaint specifically alleged that defendants violated federal securities laws by purportedly issuing a series of false and misleading statements to the market throughout the Class Period, which statements allegedly had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities. The complaint asserts claims under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, thereunder. Named as defendants, in addition to the Company, were its former president and chief executive officer and its former executive vice president and chief financial officer. On August 16, 2005, a First Amended Complaint in the Shareholder Putative Class Action was filed against the Company in the United States District Court District of New Jersey. The First Amended Complaint named additional defendants, including certain current and former directors, certain former Company officers, the Company's former and current external auditors and Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips). Like the original complaint, the First Amended Complaint asserted claims under Sections 10b and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act) and Rule 10b5 of the Act. The Class Period of the original complaint was expanded 20 months and now includes the period from March 29, 2000 through June 14, 2004. Pursuant to an October 17, 2005 consent order approved by the Court, Lead Plaintiff Greater Pennsylvania Pension Fund filed a Second Amended Complaint on November 15, 2005. The Second Amended Complaint dropped Philips as a defendant, but alleges the same claims and the same purported class period as the First Amended Complaint. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. Pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, discovery in the action is stayed pending the filing and resolution of the defendants' motions to dismiss, which were filed on January 17, 2006, and will be fully briefed by May 1, 2006. The Company believes that the claims asserted in the Second Amended Complaint are without merit, and is vigorously defending the action. Customer Litigation As previously announced, a putative class action was filed in the United States District Court Central District of California. The action, entitled South Broward Hospital District, dba Memorial Regional Hospital, et al. v. MedQuist, Inc. et al., Case No. CV-04-7520-TJH-VBKx, was filed on September 9, 2004 against the Company and certain present and former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of non-Federal governmental hospitals and medical centers that the complaint claims were wrongfully and fraudulently overcharged for transcription services by defendants based primarily on the Company's use of the AAMT line billing unit of measure discussed below. The complaint charges fraud, violation of the California Business and Professions Code, unjust enrichment, conversion, negligent supervision and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Plaintiffs seek damages in an unspecified amount, plus costs and interest, an injunction against alleged continuing illegal activities, an accounting, punitive damages and attorneys' fees. Named as defendants, in addition to the Company, were a senior vice president, its former executive vice president of marketing and new business development, its former executive vice president and chief legal officer, and its former executive vice president and chief financial officer. On December 20, 2004, the Company and individual defendants filed motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue, or in the alternative, to transfer the putative action to the United States District Court District of New Jersey. On February 2, 2005, plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint both adding and deleting named plaintiffs in an attempt to keep the putative action in the United States District Court Central District of California. On March 30, 2005, the United States District Court Central District of California issued an order transferring the putative action to the United States District Court District of New Jersey. On August 1, 2005, the Company and the individual defendants filed their respective Answers denying the material allegations contained in the Second Amended Complaint. On August 31, 2005, the Company and individual defendants filed motions to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim and a motion to dismiss in favor of arbitration, or in the alternative, to stay pending arbitration. On December 12, 2005, the plaintiffs filed an Amendment to the Second Amended Complaint. On December 13, 2005, the Court issued an order requiring plaintiffs to file a Third Amended Complaint and set forth a briefing schedule for the filing of anticipated motions to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint, which have been set for hearing on March 8, 2006. Plaintiffs filed the Third Amended Complaint on January 4, 2006. The Third Amended Complaint expands the claims made beyond issues arising from contracts based on AAMT line billing and beyond customers billed based on an AAMT line, alleging that the Company engaged in a scheme to inflate customers' invoices without regard to the terms of individual contracts and even in the absence of any written contract. The Third Amended Complaint also limits plaintiffs' claim for fraud in the inducement of the agreement to arbitrate to the three named plaintiffs whose contracts contain an arbitration provision and a subclass of similarly situated customers. The Company believes that the claims asserted have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the putative action. Medical Transcriptionist Litigation Hoffmann Putative Class Action As previously announced, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against the Company in the United States District Court Northern District of Georgia. The action, entitled Brigitte Hoffmann, et al. v. MedQuist, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:04-CV-3452, was filed with the Court on November 29, 2004 against the Company and certain current and former Company officials, purportedly on behalf of an alleged class of current and former employees and statutory workers of MedQuist, who are or were compensated on a per line basis for medical transcription services (the Class Members) from January 1, 1998 to the time of the filing of the complaint (the Class Period). The complaint specifically alleged that defendants systematically and wrongfully underpaid the Class Members during the Class Period. The complaint asserted the following causes of action: fraud, breach of contract, demand for accounting, quantum meruit, unjust enrichment, conversion, negligence, negligent supervision, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations. Plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory damages, punitive damages, disgorgement and restitution. On December 1, 2005, the Hoffmann matter was transferred to the United States District Court District of New Jersey. The Company believes that the claims presently asserted have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the putative action. Myers Putative Class Action As previously announced, a putative class action entitled, Myers, et al. v. MedQuist Inc. and MedQuist Transcriptions, Ltd., Case No. 05CV 4608 (JBS), was filed against the Company on September 22, 2005 in the United States District Court District of New Jersey. The action was brought on behalf of a putative class of MedQuist's employee and independent contractor transcriptionists who claim that they contracted with the Company to be paid per AAMT line, but were allegedly underpaid due to intentional miscounting of the number of characters and lines transcribed. The named plaintiffs assert claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and request an accounting. The allegations contained in the Myers case are substantially similar to those contained in the Hoffmann putative class action and the two actions have now been consolidated. On January 3, 2006, a consent order was executed pursuant to which the Hoffmann and Myers plaintiffs will file a single, consolidated class action complaint on or before January 31, 2006. As with the Hoffmann putative class action, the Company believes that the claims presently asserted in the Myers action have no merit and intends to vigorously defend the consolidated actions. Derivative Litigation On October 4, 2005, the Company announced the dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder derivative action filed in United States District Court District of New Jersey. The suit, Rhoda Kanter (Plaintiff) v. Hans M. Barella et al. (Defendants), was filed on November 12, 2004 against Philips and ten current and former members of MedQuist's Board of Directors. MedQuist was named as a nominal defendant. In a ruling dated September 21, 2005, the Court found Plaintiff's allegations that MedQuist's Board members breached their fiduciary duties to the Company to be insufficient. The Plaintiff had alleged that for a period from 2001 through 2004, the Defendants violated their fiduciary duties by permitting artificial inflation of billing figures; failing to adequately ensure accurate and lawful billing practices; and failing to accurately report the Company's true financial condition in its published financial statements. To the contrary, the Court concluded: Far from alleging facts supporting a substantial likelihood of liability, Plaintiff here has painted a picture of a board of directors that acted responsively given the circumstances . . . . On October 3, 2005, plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration of the Court's order dismissing the action with prejudice. On November 16, 2005, the Court denied Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration. On December 13, 2005, Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Customer Accommodations The primary allegations in a number of the litigation matters relate to how the Company interpreted the AAMT line billing unit of measure. The AAMT line billing unit of measure was developed in 1993 through a collaboration among several industry organizations with the intent of providing standardization in industry billing practices. However, due to inherent ambiguities in the definition of this unit of measure not fully anticipated at the time of its introduction, AAMT line-based billing was applied inconsistently throughout the medical transcription industry and eventually renounced by the groups initially responsible for its development. Despite these issues, a number of companies in the industry have continued to use AAMT line-based billing, and some customers still request proposals and contracts based on the AAMT line. Like many medical transcription service providers, MedQuist once used the AAMT line unit of measure to calculate invoices for many of its medical transcription clients. It has been widely recognized and well documented throughout the industry, however, that the AAMT definition of a line is inherently ambiguous and subject to a wide variety of interpretations. In fact, no single set of AAMT characters was ever defined for this unit of measure. Accordingly, MedQuist began the process in 2004 of transitioning its AAMT line-based customers off the AAMT line unit of measure and, in April 2005, the Company completely eliminated the use of the AAMT line for billing and called on other industry transcription providers to follow its lead. Due to these AAMT line unit of measure ambiguities, and the disparity in its interpretation, health care providers have raised concerns regarding charges for transcription services by their respective transcription providers, including the Company. In response to those concerns, and to foster ongoing business relationships with its customers, the Company has approached certain customers and offered to resolve any issues related to their prior AAMT line and other billing related issues. The Company's Board of Directors has authorized Company management to make accommodation offers, up to an aggregate amount of $65.0 million, to certain customers to resolve concerns over AAMT and other billing related issues. As of December 31, 2005, (i) the Company has entered into agreements with certain customers who have accepted accommodation offers to resolve concerns over AAMT and other billing related issues, and paid or credited an aggregate amount of $20.5 million as an accommodation to those customers and (ii) additional accommodation offers have been made by the Company to certain other customers in the aggregate amount of $13.8 million. From January 1, 2006 through the date of this release, accommodation offers have been made to additional customers in the aggregate amount of $1.7 million. Subject to the previously mentioned authorization of the Company's Board of Directors, Company management currently intends to make additional accommodation offers in the future, although the timing and amount of such offers have not yet been determined and the Company's plans may change in the future. The accommodation offers do not represent in any way the Company's estimate of potential liability, if any, in any of the previously disclosed litigation or investigatory matters pending against the Company. The Company is unable to predict how many customers, if any, will accept the outstanding accommodation offers on the terms proposed by the Company, nor is the Company able to predict the timing of the acceptance (or rejection) of any of these outstanding accommodation offers. Until such offers are accepted, the Company may withdraw or modify the terms of the accommodation offers at any time. In addition, the Company is unable to predict how many of the future offers, if made, will be accepted on the terms proposed by the Company. The Company believes that its existing cash resources and cash flows from operations are sufficient to fund all of the customer accommodation offers it may make. By accepting the Company's accommodation offers, the customer must agree, among other things, to release the Company from any and all claims and liability regarding prior AAMT and other billing related issues. The accommodation offers made to date, and those offers which may be made in the future, are not an admission of liability by the Company of any wrongdoing or an admission or acknowledgement that its billing practices with respect to such customers were or are incorrect. -0- *T MedQuist Inc. - Preliminary and Unaudited Financial Information (in millions) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended ----------------------------------- 12/31/2005 12/31/2004 ---------------- ---------------- Revenues (1) $ 96 $ 112 Operating loss (1) $ (78) $ 0 Cash (2) $ 178 $ 196 Debt (2) - Current $ 0 $ 25 - Long term $ 0 $ 0 Twelve months ended ----------------------------------- 12/31/2005 12/31/2004 ---------------- ---------------- Revenues (3) $ 411 $ 456 Operating (loss)income (3) $ (98) $ 25 Cash (2) $ 178 $ 196 Debt (2) - Current $ 0 $ 25 - Long term $ 0 $ 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: (1) Information presented for the three months ended (2) Information presented as of the date noted above (3) Information presented for the twelve months ended *T Three months ended December 31, 2005 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenues decreased from approximately $112 million for the three months ended December 31, 2004 to approximately $96 million for the comparable 2005 period. The decline in revenues is largely due to a decrease in the volume of lines transcribed primarily related to clients for whom we no longer provide transcription services. Additionally, while pricing pressures continue on the base transcription business, the pricing pressure has not had as great an impact on revenues during the second half of 2005 as it did in the first half. Management expects that pricing pressure will continue for the foreseeable future but that the introduction of several new sales and improved customer service initiatives will cause transcription volume to stabilize or improve in 2006. Operating Income: Preliminary results indicate that operating income declined $78 million from approximately $0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2004 to an operating loss of approximately $78 million for the comparable 2005 period. The operating loss was attributable to the following: restructuring charges ($4 million), audit fees in connection with the Company's 2003, 2004 and 2005 fiscal years ($4 million), asset impairments ($2 million) and $69 million in costs incurred during the three months ended December 31, 2005 related to the ongoing billing review, including: (i) customer accommodation payments and accruals ($60 million), (ii) legal fees incurred in connection with governmental investigations and proceedings and defense of the class action matters, and (iii) non-legal professional fees. Operating income in 2005 was also impacted by the $16 million decline in revenues over the same period. Fiscal 2004 results reflect $6 million in costs related to the ongoing billing review. Twelve Months ended December 31, 2005 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenues decreased from approximately $456 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2004 to approximately $411 million for the comparable 2005 period. The decline in revenues is due to (i) a decrease in the volume of lines transcribed primarily related to clients for whom we no longer provide transcription services and (ii) reductions in transcription service rates due to pricing pressure in the medical transcription industry. Management expects that pricing pressure will continue for the foreseeable future but that the introduction of several new sales and improved customer service initiatives will cause transcription volume to stabilize or improve in 2006. Operating Income: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that operating income declined $123 million from an operating income of approximately $25 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2004 to an operating loss of approximately $98 million for 2005. The operating loss was attributable to the following: restructuring charges ($4 million), audit fees in connection with the Company's 2003, 2004 and 2005 fiscal years ($4 million), asset impairments ($2 million) and $101 million in costs incurred in 2005 related to the ongoing billing review, including: (i) customer accommodation payments and accruals ($65 million), (ii) legal fees incurred in connection with governmental investigations and proceedings and defense of the class action matters, (iii) non-legal professional fees, and (iv) costs associated with separation and replacement of the Company's management team, including members at the executive level. Operating income in 2005 was also impacted by the $44 million decline in revenues over the comparable period, which represents the impact of both the pricing pressures experienced most strongly in the first six months of 2005 and of volume declines throughout the twelve months ended December 31, 2005. Fiscal 2004 results reflect $15 million in costs related to the ongoing billing review. Balance Sheet Highlights: At December 31, 2005, the Company had $178 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt. There were no additional issuances of capital stock or other securities for the twelve months ended December 31, 2005. The Company expects to incur significant costs and expenses in the future relating to the ongoing billing review, defense of the class action matters and governmental investigations and proceedings, and accommodation agreements. These costs and expenses include (i) legal fees relating to the SEC and Department of Justice investigations and proceedings, (ii) legal fees relating to defense and resolution of the litigation matters described above, (iii) customer accommodation payments and credits, and (iv) non-legal professional fees. The timing and level of these costs and expenses is, in many cases, not within the Company's control. While the Company is unable to predict the timing and level of these costs and expenses, the Company currently believes that it has sufficient resources, including cash on hand and cash flow from operations to fund these costs and expenses. However, there can be no assurance that unanticipated changes in the level of these costs will not exceed the Company's available cash resources, nor can there be any assurance that sufficient financing from external sources will be available to the Company on acceptable terms, if at all. In the event that the Company's cash requirements exceed its available cash resources, or if the timing of such costs and expenses requires the Company to divert cash resources away from operations, the Company may not be able to execute its operating plan, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and results of operations. Other Developments Restructuring: As previously disclosed, in conjunction with the Company's movement to a single national service and support organization, a restructuring plan has been developed which consolidates approximately forty-eight (48) facilities and centralizes certain components of the business. The Company is expecting to incur restructure costs associated with this restructuring plan of up to $8.5 million and the restructuring is expected to generate annualized savings of approximately $18.5 million. Specifically, MedQuist has shifted resources to a single national service delivery and support organization for all of the Company's services and products, eliminating local service centers. This transition has resulted in the consolidation of approximately thirty-eight (38) facilities as of December 31, 2005, with ten (10) more scheduled over the next six months. The plan does not contemplate reductions of, and the Company has no current intentions to reduce, its medical transcription workforce. Rather, the Company will continue in its efforts to hire additional qualified transcriptionists. Further, although the Company is consolidating its local service centers as described above, customer-facing teams, led by account managers, will continue to coordinate customer support on the local level. The customer-facing teams will work with and be supported by the Company's centrally managed customer service organization.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance Strengthens [2005-11-28]
Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance Strengthens Foothold as Standard Speech Recognition Solution for Healthcare Industry
Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN), formerly ScanSoft, Inc., the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world, today announced that its Dragon(TM) Dictation Solutions family has become the standard in speech recognition technology for the healthcare sector. Already in use at thousands of healthcare facilities worldwide, Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) Medical, Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) SDK (software developer kit), and the Dragon(TM) MT Workflow System can save healthcare organizations thousands of dollars per doctor each year in reduced or eliminated manual transcription costs by converting speech into text at up to twice the speed of the spoken word, automating the clinical documentation process and eliminating the high cost and long turnaround time associated with the manual transcription of patient notes.
Nuance provides the healthcare industry with an unmatched set of speech recognition solutions, including Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical, the world's best selling front-end speech recognition solution for electronic medical records systems, the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Server SDK, which enables the server-based processing and workflow of recorded patient information, and the Dragon MT Workflow System, a scalable, HIPAA compliant, web-based platform for end-to-end transcription processing The Dragon NaturallySpeaking family of products includes 14 pre-made medical specialty vocabularies, supports the creation of custom vocabularies, and delivers patent-pending roaming user capabilities to enable use within distributed care provider facilities.
A growing number of healthcare vendors and integrators have joined with Nuance to speech-enable their healthcare solutions, including: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions; Cerner CoPath; ChartLogic, Inc; Clinical Content Consultants, LLC; Commissure; Dictaphone; DR Systems, Inc.; ERad; Guardian; IDX Systems Corporation; Instar; Meditech; Misys Healthcare Systems; Mountain Medical Technologies, Inc.; Northbase; NovaRad; Polaris-Danforth; SoftMed Systems; STI Computer Systems, Inc.; Structurad; Swearingen; ThinAir; Virtual Radiological Consultants; and Voicebrook. In addition, ScanSoft(R) Dragon NaturallySpeaking(R) has garnered accolades from respected publications worldwide, including CNet, Computer Reseller News, Forbes, The New York Times, PC Magazine, PC World, and SmartComputing.
Nuance's Dragon Dictation Solutions apply highly accurate speech recognition to intelligent workflow processing solutions in order to reduce the costs associated with manually converting medical dictation into text, estimated at $10 billion in North America and $15 billion worldwide each year. Nuance delivers these solutions through its growing number of channel partners, including healthcare information systems vendors, systems integrators, digital dictation systems vendors and MTSOs. Dragon Dictation Solutions are used worldwide by physicians, records management and medical transcription teams within hospitals, clinics and physician practice organizations, as well as MTSOs to enhance their current transcription services businesses.
Nuance Speech Solutions
Nuance Speech Solutions make the user experience more compelling and expand business potential. Through its dictation, embedded and network speech solutions, Nuance offers the world's preeminent portfolio of speech technologies, expertise and solutions that transform the way people interact with businesses, information and each other. Today, thousands of companies and millions of users around the world depend on Nuance Speech Solutions to deliver vital information, increase productivity and conduct business. To experience the power of the spoken word, please visit nuance.com.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance (Nasdaq: NUAN) is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit nuance.com.
Nuance, the Nuance logo, Dragon, and NaturallySpeaking are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Spheris India looking at expanding in tier-II cities [2005-10-20]
BANGALORE: US-based medical transcription company Spheris, which recently acquired HealthScribe, is looking to expand in a tier-II cities in India, preferably in the South by 2006. Spheris India (formerly HealthScribe), based in Bangalore, recently opened an additional 300-seat center in Coimbatore this month.
The company has over 2000 employees in India at present, and plans to ramp up the headcount to 3000, next year.
“We feel that large cities are very competitive while smaller cities have a lot more candidates who are serious in taking up medical transcription as a full-fledged career,” said Suresh Nair, CEO and MD, Spheris India.
Elaborating this aspect, he said that unlike BPOs or call centers, which require good spoken English skills, medical transcription is more knowledge-oriented and needs good grammatical skills.
Commenting on the merger with Spheris- the second biggest medical transcription company globally, he said that the move had made HealthScribe a truly global company with access to bigger funds and support for growth.
The company has already added 15 new accounts from the Spheris' stable. Nair said that next year, he plans to start a technology development team that would build solutions based on their delivery platform and sell them commercially.
Nair also revealed that by end of 2006, Spheris India would look at new areas like medical coding and billing. Spheris' revenues globally are in the region of $200 million. He expects Spheris India to grow at 60% this year. “The medical transcription industry has made a comeback in India and US customers are sending more and more work to us,” he said.
MedQuist Moving to Centralized, National Service Delivery Model [2005-10-11]
MedQuist Moving to Centralized, National Service Delivery Model
10/10/2005 9:00:00 AM EST
Shift Will Streamline Operations, Drive Improved Service Standards and Technology
MedQuist Inc. (Pink Sheets: MEDQ.PK) today announced that management, in accordance with direction received from the company's board of directors, adopted a plan on October 6, 2005 to centralize and streamline the company's organizational and operational structure to better serve its customers. The plan is expected to improve operating performance and increase customer satisfaction.
The move toward a new structure and delivery model will be supported by the following actions:
-- Medquist will shift resources to a single national service delivery and support organization for all of the company's services and products, eliminating local service centers. This new centrally managed structure will enhance workflow management, with the result being dramatically improved levels of service and quality for our customers. The company expects this transition to result in the consolidation of approximately forty facilities over the next twelve months.
-- In conjunction with the shift to centralized customer service delivery, the company's national service delivery and support organization will, in the fourth quarter of this year, begin to implement its Qtinuum of Care initiative. The Qtinuum of Care initiative is focused specifically on driving increased levels of customer satisfaction through a new centralized and integrated customer service and support model.
-- To drive greater customer focus, the company's product management group will be moving under the direction of the Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, new products in the area of voice capture, speech recognition and on-premise transcription solutions will be introduced within the next twelve months.
-- The company's Sales and Marketing organizations will be combined, which will improve communication between MedQuist's direct sales group and its marketing support organization. As a result of this combination, the Senior Vice President - Marketing and Business Development and the Senior Vice President - Sales have separated from the company. MedQuist is currently engaged in the process of selecting the combined organization's leadership.
The company anticipates that all of the foregoing actions will be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2006, and that it will record restructuring charges in the range of $6.5 million to $8.5 million pre-tax, largely representing facility exit costs and employee severance payments. As a result of the plan, the company also expects to realize annualized savings of approximately $18.5 million.
About MedQuist:
MedQuist, a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leading provider of electronic medical transcription, health information and document management products and services. MedQuist provides document workflow management, digital dictation, speech recognition, mobile dictation devices, Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding products and outsourcing services.
Safe Harbor Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Some of the statements in this Press Release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not limited to, statements relating to the Company's expected results of operations and financial condition, scheduled actions under plan to improve the company's organizational and operational structure, restructuring charges expected to be recorded in connection with the plan, expected cost benefits resulting from the plan, expected reductions in location, and consolidation and reorganization of technologies and business units. These statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates and projections regarding the Company's business, operations and other factors relating thereto. Words such as may, will, could, would, should, anticipate, predict, potential, continue, expects, intends, plans, projects, believes, estimates and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and as such are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. As a result, these statements speak only as of the date they were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Company's actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including unanticipated expenditures in connection with the effectuation of the plan to improve the company's organizational and operational structure; unanticipated difficulties in connection with reductions in location, or the consolidation and reorganization of technologies and business units; customer reaction to the plan; any direct or indirect impact of the matters disclosed in the Form 12b-25 filed by the Company on August 19, 2005 on the Company's operating results or financial condition; any continuation of pricing pressures and declining billing rates; difficulties relating to the implementation of management changes throughout the Company; and the outcome of pending and future legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations.
MedQuist Shareholder Derivative Suit Dismissed [2005-10-05]
MedQuist Shareholder Derivative Suit Dismissed
10/4/2005 8:44:00 AM EST
MedQuist Inc. (Pink Sheets: MEDQ.PK) today announced the dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder derivative action filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The suit, Rhoda Kanter (Plaintiff) v. Hans M. Barella et al. (Defendants), was filed November 12, 2004 against Koninklijke Philips Electronic N.V. (Philips) and ten current and former members of MedQuist's Board of Directors. Medquist was named as a nominal defendant.
In a ruling dated September 21, 2005, the Court, the Honorable Jerome B. Simandle presiding, found Plaintiff's allegations that MedQuist's Board members breached their fiduciary duties to the Company to be insufficient. The Plaintiff had alleged that for a period from 2001 through 2004, the Defendants violated their fiduciary duties by permitting artificial inflation of billing figures; failing to adequately ensure accurate and lawful billing practices; and failing to accurately report the Company's true financial condition in its published financial statements. To the contrary, the Court concluded: Far from alleging facts supporting a substantial likelihood of liability, Plaintiff here has painted a picture of a board of directors that acted responsively given the circumstances....
Howard S. Hoffmann, MedQuist CEO, was confident of the outcome. It is the right decision, and certainly supports the actions of MedQuist's Directors in fulfilling their responsibilities to the Company.
About MedQuist:
MedQuist, a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leading provider of electronic medical transcription, health information and document management products and services. MedQuist provides document workflow management, digital dictation, speech recognition, mobile dictation devices, Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding products and outsourcing services.
Safe Harbor Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding MedQuist's business which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) our ability to recruit and retain qualified transcriptionists and other employees; (2) the impact of new services or products on the demand for our existing services; (3) our current dependence on medical transcription for substantially all of our business; (4) our ability to expand our customer base; (5) changes in law, including, without limitation, the impact the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) will have on our business; (6) infringement on the proprietary rights of others; (7) risks inherent in diversifying into other businesses; (8) any continuation of pricing pressures and declining billing rates; (9) difficulties relating to the implementation of management changes throughout the Company; (10) the outcome of pending and future legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations; and (11) any direct or indirect impact of the matters disclosed in the Form 12b-25 filed by the Company on August 19, 2005. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements. As a result, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Spheris Helps Employees Displaced by Katrina [2005-10-01]
NASHVILLE, TN–Spheris, a global provider of medical transcription services and technology, is reaching out to help its more than 100 employees who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Spheris employs more than 5,000 professional MTs, most of whom work from their homes, and had more than 170 employees located in the devastated gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
“It took some time, but I am happy to say we have been able to locate all of our employees,” said Spheris CEO and President Steven E. Simpson. “Through the efforts of our employee relations specialists, we were able to determine that all of our colleagues escaped serious physical harm. Nevertheless, 21 Spheris employees have potentially lost their homes and all their possessions; 15 are in their homes, but are not able to work because of lost utilities; and several employees have relocated and been able to resume work.” According to Simpson, Spheris is currently assisting with additional relocation efforts of other employees unable to return to their homes.
On Tuesday, Aug. 30, as the world began realizing the devastation facing millions of Americans, Spheris established a Spheris Employee Relief Effort as a means to provide corporate-sponsored assistance to Spheris employees who experienced a significant hardship directly caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Spheris started the fund with the initial contribution and vowed to match a large percentage of Spheris employee contributions. In the days that followed, Spheris saw overwhelming generosity from its employees wanting to help, and in response set up an automated process for Spheris employees to donate their unused Paid Time Off (PTO) and cash contributions through payroll deduction on the Spheris corporate intranet.
In addition to using the company intranet, Spheris is sending regular e-mail updates to all its employees and an e-mail address (Naturaldisasterloop@spheris.com) has been established to enhance the company’s ability to communicate and respond to its employees’ needs.
To date, Spheris employees have personally donated more than $77,000 in cash and $112,000 in donated hours of PTO for their colleagues in need. And, those donations are already helping numerous Spheris employees.
Peggy Stolf, who lives in St. Bernard Parish outside of New Orleans, is a Spheris MT supervisor who is receiving assistance from her employer. “Words cannot express the gratitude my family has for Spheris,” said Stolf. “Through this entire disaster, Spheris became my family's rock that we could cling to, to help us through.”
The Stolf family lost its house, all of its possessions and its beloved dog to the devastating flood waters and is now living with family in Augusta, GA. While it would be easy to focus on what she lost, Stolf chooses to focus on what she gained. “Though we did lose a lot, we did gain a renewed faith in humanity and compassion,” said Stolf. “And, I cannot even find the right words to express the kindness and care that Spheris has shown toward me and my family.”
Philips, Citrix Co-Operation Enables [2005-09-21]
Philips, Citrix Co-Operation Enables Speech Recognition and Digital Dictation for 50 Million Professional Users World-Wide
VIENNA, Austria--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2005--Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG)(AEX:PHI) announced today the release of an enhancement to the professional document creation platform SpeechMagic(TM) enabling for the first time adequate speech recognition in Citrix(R) environments. With SpeechMagic supporting 23 recognition languages and providing a portfolio of more than 150 recognition vocabularies for the medical, legal, governmental and financial sectors, potentially more than 50 million Citrix users worldwide can now benefit from increased documentation efficiency and reduced operating costs.
The deployment of speech recognition and digital dictation applications from Citrix servers will be a key factor in more efficient documentation workflow. It will also enable the centralization of IT administration, and bring critical speech recognition features such as automatic learning and acoustic adaptation - significantly reducing the strain on financial and human resources. By centralizing applications and the delivery of data, Citrix and SpeechMagic are able to provide an extremely high level of security (no files are stored locally), dramatically improving the protection of personal data.
By adding bi-directional audio capabilities, Citrix enabled the digital recordings to be uploaded and Philips developed a real-time speech recognition channel. This channel improves the usability of dictation hardware, such as the industry-leading Philips SpeechMike and allows for the deployment of the full range of speech recognition features within a Citrix environment. Numerous authors can now dictate simultaneously anywhere within the Citrix network and either delegate the dictation to a secretary/ Transcriptionist or correct it themselves.
Citrix infrastructure is popular with large institutions in the healthcare, legal and finance industries. With SpeechMagic being geared towards industrial-grade document creation, our award-winning platform has been optimized for these industries, says Marcel Wassink, Managing Director Philips Speech Recognition Systems. This co-operation with Citrix opens the door to a vast new market for Philips and its partners.
As a worldwide leader in Speech Technologies, we're delighted to be working closely with Philips. SpeechMagic brings tremendous value to our customers in significantly increasing their documentation efficiency and hence improving the return on their investment in Citrix Access Infrastructure, said David Jones, corporate vice president, business development, for Citrix.
SpeechMagic for Citrix will be presented live at the Citrix(R) iForum(TM) Global conference in Las Vegas, Nev., on October 9 - 12, 2005. The new component to the SpeechMagic platform will be released to the Philips global network of more than 200 integration partners on September 20, 2005.
MedQuist Launches DocQsign(TM) [2005-09-20]
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medquist Inc.(Pink Sheets: MEDQ) today announces the release of DocQsign, a Web-basedelectronic signature module of DocQment(TM) Enterprise Platform, an Internet-hosted document workflow management solution. Available as an optionalservice, DocQsign integrates the requirement of electronic signature with theprocess of document workflow and ensures a seamless transition fromtranscribed document to authenticated document, facilitating patient care andthe reimbursement process. MedQuist understands the value of the healthcare providers' time and theurgency to gain quick access to patient medical records. With DocQsign,physicians no longer need to visit the Medical Records department to signcharts or view a patient medical record, says Terry Cameron, MedQuist'ssenior vice president of Marketing. Not only does DocQsign make the processfaster and easier for the healthcare provider, it ultimately reduces theturnaround time for quicker reimbursement and enhanced patient care. Physicians are provided access via the Internet to documents withinseconds of completed transcription, from anywhere, at anytime. Using aWeb-based user account and an array of electronic review and signature tools,physicians can authenticate patient documents that they originated, or withappropriate permission, documents that were originated by other physicians.Physicians can access, listen, review, edit, reject and sign patientdocuments, all through a Web-based interface. Physicians and healthcare providers get a list of documents to be signedin their inbox, says Dori Dunn, DocQsign product manager. From one screen,they can either listen, edit, reject or sign the document, all from thecomforts of home or from any location with Internet access. Attending andresident signatures and a delegate role are available to support the needs ofthe healthcare industry. And once the document is signed, it is automaticallyrouted to the appropriate location, reducing turnaround times and concernsabout incomplete reports.
ZyDoc Offers Hurricane Katrina Disaster [2005-09-15]
ZyDoc, a technology leader in automated medical documentation solutions, announced free emergency transcription and medical record support for healthcare workers and organizations affected by Hurricane Katrina disaster. In view of the severity of the hurricane and widespread disruption of critical services, ZyDoc recognizes the need to fulfill the requirements of healthcare providers for medical transcription and documentation management and assist agencies with related documentation needs pertaining to the victims and infrastucture.
Hauppauge, NY (PRWEB) September 14, 2005 -- ZyDoc, a technology leader in automated medical documentation solutions, announced free emergency transcription and medical record support for healthcare workers and organizations affected by the Katrina hurricane disaster. In view of the severity of the hurricane and widespread disruption of services, ZyDoc recognizes the need to fulfill the requirements of healthcare providers for medical transcription and documentation management. With many hospitals in the effected area temporally closed or operating with limited services, the infrastructure for ongoing medical records will be severely limited. Coupled with the anticipated increase in medical services secondary to the disaster, and difficulties for healthcare providers and transcriptionists to travel or perform their duties, ZyDoc anticipates that there maybe an immediate need to offer transcription services and secure Internet based medical records to the medical community. The displaced victims will benefit from secure Internet based records that can be accessible from anywhere.Jim Maisel, M.D., Chairman of ZyDoc explains, The ZyDoc technology platform offers a number of advantages to the disaster area to overcome infrastructural limitations imposed by service outages and temporary personnel shortages and displacement of people. Physicians, hospitals, relief, legal, rescue and transcription companies can utilize ZyDoc infrastructure and transcription services starting work within minutes. ZyDoc intends to make our surplus capacity available immediately to the medical community on a first-come first-served basis at no charge until services can be restored.Steve Koski, CEO and President of ZyDoc explains the operational aspects of the transcription and medical records service as follows: Health-care workers will be able to dictate into handheld digital recorders or the ZyDoc TelDoc 800 toll-free servers. ZyDoc will supply fully edited transcription services, usually with overnight service as available, for these documents or provide Internet based ASP delivery of the voice files to the transcriptionists selected by the health-care users. Once transcribed, documents and voice files will be available immediately and securely via Internet access from any PC with a browser and stored for later access. The documents can also be automatically downloaded and printed to a PC, faxed or made available to share with authorized caregivers over the Internet. The ZyDoc carrier class datacenter has proven reliable without failure over the past two years and was operational even during the Northeast blackout. We intend to make our surplus capacity available immediately to the medical community on a first-come first-served basis at no charge.AvailabilityHurricane related services can be started by enrolling at the try it free link on the secure www.zydoc.com website and using the promo code: Katrina. Then contact the ZyDoc Operations Center at 631-273-6125 to receive your user login and password. Dictation can be started immediately using low-cost digital handheld recorders or the TelDoc 800 service. Completed documents will be available with secure confidential access by author on ZyDoc.com website. Documents can be faxed using the ZyDoc FaxDoc system and can be accessed or automatically downloaded and printed from any computer with Internet access. Transcription ASP infrastructure solutions are also available to replace legacy and non-HIPAA-compliant services for transcription companies or hospitals that need infrastructure support. ZyDoc provides multimedia demonstrations, training, and support on an urgent or scheduled basis via the Internet at http://zydoc.webex.com and through an expansive nationwide network of Tech Data, Toshiba, and qualified integrators. For more information on ZyDoc Automated Medical Documentation Solutions visit www.zydoc.com or enroll at www.zydoc.com/leads.htm About ZyDoc.com CorporationZyDoc is an award winning transcription service and software development company that provides automated electronic health-record documentation and infrastructure ASP legacy-replacement solutions. Physicians, transcriptionists, and other healthcare professionals use these services to produce, organize, and distribute multi-specialty patient electronic medical records (EMR) in Community Health Information Networks (CHIN). ZyDoc solves the PC illiteracy, data entry bottleneck, implementation, and cost issues that plague other clinical documentation and transcription companies. It uses transparent embedded technology that leverages front- and back-end speech recognition, workflow enhancements, and the Internet. ZyDoc is a development partner with SUNY Computer Sciences at Stony Brook, a ScanSoft platinum dealer, and an IBM Speech Premier Business Partner.Press Contacts: Jim Maisel, M.D.Chairman, ZyDoc.comZyDoc.com Corporation631-273-1963
Dictaphone Expands ichart Speech-Certified [2005-09-09]
Dictaphone Expands ichart Speech-Certified Transcription Network; Responds to Increasing Demand with Certification Program and Call for Additional Transcription Partners
American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT)
Annual Convention and ExpoHONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2005--Today at the American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT) Annual Convention and Expo, Dictaphone announced the creation of the healthcare industry's first Speech-Certified Transcription Network in response to the substantial growing demand for its ichart(R) Managed Services solutions. ichart Managed Services combines Dictaphone's industry-leading speech recognition technology with transcription services performed by Dictaphone's Speech-Certified Transcription Network, which has been trained to edit on the company's speech recognition platform. This combination of labor and technology delivers lower-cost, high-quality medical transcription with rapid turnaround. All Dictaphone transcription service partners are required to pass its rigorous certification program to ensure even higher levels of service excellence and proficiency in speech recognition editing.
ichart Managed Services is quickly proving what we suspected when we introduced the product less then one year ago: that using speech recognition to drive down the enormous costs and improve the quality of transcription is the future of medical documentation outsourcing, said Don Fallati, senior vice president of marketing for Dictaphone. The overwhelming response we've had from the market is driving us to create the first Speech-Certified Transcription Network, offering our clients the most talented and best-equipped group of 'speech recognition-enabled' transcription service providers.
Speech-Certified Transcription Providers are thoroughly trained, evaluated and benchmarked against specific industry-standard quality, speed and customer service metrics. Those that meet the strict criteria will receive certification and will be reevaluated quarterly to ensure continued adherence.
Tamara Brown, president and CEO of Encompass Medical Transcription, Inc., a member of Dictaphone's Speech-Certified Transcription Network, said, ichart has allowed us to increase the volume of work Encompass can do with our existing staff and enabled us to train new medical transcriptionists to generate high-quality reports at a higher level of productivity. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Encompass is a U.S. medical transcription company that employs only U.S.-based medical transcriptionists.
We welcome and encourage other medical transcription companies to join the Speech-Certified Transcription Network, Fallati said. The interest we've seen from potential partners wanting to participate in the program has been significant and reflects the broad momentum in our industry for acquiring the skills associated with speech recognition.
About Dictaphone's ichart Managed Services
Dictaphone's ichart Managed Services offering aims to meet the needs of organizations currently relying heavily on outsourced transcription but who are attracted to the savings that can be generated by speech recognition. The program blends Dictaphone technology with transcription services performed by Dictaphone's Speech Certified Transcription Network who have been trained to edit on the company's speech recognition platform. Customers receive a blended line rate covering work that is transcribed traditionally as well as documents edited from speech recognition. Frequently, significant savings can be achieved by healthcare organizations over current line charges.
About Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group
Dictaphone is the world's largest supplier of dictation, transcription and speech recognition systems and services that simplify and enhance the production and management of paperless electronic patient information. Through the integration of speech recognition and natural language processing within existing health information management workflow, Dictaphone systems are helping healthcare organizations save money and improve patient care by increasing the speed, accuracy and usability of their medical documentation. For more information, please visit www.dictaphone.com or call 1-888-350-4836.
MedQuist Announces Preliminary, Partial and Unaudited [2005-08-20]
MT. LAUREL, N.J., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medquist Inc.(Pink Sheets: MEDQ) announced today certain preliminary, partial and unauditedfinancial results. Once the Company completes the financial assessment andreview of its billing practices disclosed in the Company's previous filingswith the SEC, the Company expects that an independent registered publicaccounting firm will review and/or audit the Company's financial statements,as appropriate. While, at this time, the Company cannot estimate the totalcosts of (i) the billing review, (ii) defense of the class action matters,(iii) the SEC investigation, and (iv) compliance with the Department ofJustice investigation, all of which have been previously disclosed in eitherthe Company's filings with the SEC or the Company's press releases, the costsincurred to date by the Company in connection with the foregoing have beenincluded in the results set forth below. Because the completion of thebilling review and resolution of the litigation and governmental investigatorymatters are pending, the Company is not certain whether any changes to theaccounting treatment of any component of its consolidated financial statementswill be required and, if any changes are necessary, whether any such changeswould have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.Accordingly, the financial information set forth below is preliminary,unaudited, and subject to change based on the completion of the financialassessment and review of the Company's billing practices and the completion ofthe review and/or audit of its financial statements, as appropriate. The information set forth below is derived from the Company's internalbooks and records. The Company cautions investors not to place undue relianceon the information presented below. As a result of the developments describedabove and in the Company's previous SEC filings, the Company's financialstatements have not been audited or reviewed by an independent registeredaccounting firm. The information contained in this press release also has notbeen audited or reviewed by an independent registered accounting firm. Suchinformation is not a substitute for the information required to be reported inthe Company's Forms 10-K and Forms 10-Q that have not yet been filed. Therecan be no assurance that the results of the billing review, and resolution ofthe litigation and governmental investigatory matters will not have a materialadverse effect on the Company's revenue, results of operations and financialcondition. MedQuist Inc. - Preliminary and Unaudited Financial Information (inmillions) Years Ended 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 Revenue (1) $486 $490 $456 Operating income (1) 71 61 23 Cash (3) 103 162 196 Debt (3) 0.1 0.1 0.1 Quarters Ended 12/31/03 3/31/04 6/30/04 9/30/04 12/31/04 3/31/05 6/30/05 Revenue (2) $121 $118 $114 $113 $112 $108 $106 Operating income (2) 13 13 7 6 (3) (2) (6) Cash (3) 162 180 183 192 196 199 198 Debt (3) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 - Notes: (1) Information presented for the twelve months ended (2) Information presented for the three months ended (3) Information presented as of the date Twelve months ended December 31, 2003 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenueincreased from approximately $486 million for the twelve months endedDecember 31, 2002 to approximately $490 million for the comparable 2003period. The increase was largely the result of twelve months of Lanieroperations being reflected in 2003 results as compared to six months of Lanieroperations being reflected in 2002 results, as the acquisition of LanierHealthcare LLC took place on July 1, 2002, largely offset by transcriptionservice volume declines as well as declining pricing from both new andexisting transcription clients. Operating Income: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that operating income declinedfrom approximately $71 million, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002to approximately $61 million for the comparable 2003 period. The decline inoperating income is largely the result of transcription service volume andrate declines, partially offset by the result of twelve months of Lanieroperations being reflected in 2003 results as compared to six months of Lanieroperations being reflected in 2002 results, as the acquisition of LanierHealthcare LLC took place on July 1, 2002. Balance Sheet Highlights: At December 31, 2003 the Company had $162 million in cash and cashequivalents. At December 31, 2003, the Company had less than $100 thousand intotal debt. Other than minimal exercises of stock options, there were noadditional issuances of capital stock or other securities for the twelve monthperiod ended December 31, 2003. Twelve months ended December 31, 2004 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenuedecreased from approximately $490 million for the twelve months ended December31, 2003 to approximately $456 million for the comparable 2004 period. Thedecline in revenues includes the impact of decreasing transcription servicevolume from existing and lost clients, partially offset by new clients, aswell as the impact of pricing declines attributable to a competitive pricingenvironment. Additionally, the Company has recognized declines in revenue fromits front-end speech recognition products as it transitioned from TalkStationto SpeechQ for Radiology. Operating Income: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that operating income declinedfrom approximately $61 million, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2003to approximately $23 million for the comparable 2004 period. The decline inoperating income includes: 1) the impact of approximately $11 million in costsincurred in 2004 related to the ongoing billing investigation and associatedlitigation, 2) approximately $4 million in costs associated with separationand replacement of the Company's management team, including members at theexecutive level and 3) approximately $3 million associated with the write-offof intangible assets associated with products no longer being offered. Inaddition, the base business, as described above in the Revenues section,experienced a decline in transcription service volume from existing and lostclients and a decline in transcription service rates charged to customers.The impact of the revenue decline was partially offset by several cost savinginitiatives including reductions in telecommunications costs, officeconsolidations and associated staff reductions. Balance Sheet Highlights: At December 31, 2004 the Company had $196 million in cash and cashequivalents. At December 31, 2004, the Company had less than $100 thousand intotal debt. Other than minimal exercises of stock options, there were noadditional issuances of capital stock or other securities for the twelve monthperiod ended December 31, 2004. Six Months ended June 30, 2005 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenuedecreased from approximately $232 million for the six months ended June 30,2004 to approximately $213 million for the comparable 2005 period. Thedecline in revenues includes the impact of the result of reductions incontracted transcription service rates from existing clients, further affectedby new transcription business service volume replacing lost transcriptionservice volume at a lower average price. Management expects these pricingpressures to continue and for revenue in the second half of 2005 to declinefrom first half levels. Operating Income: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that operating income declinedfrom approximately $20 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004 to anoperating loss of approximately $8 million for the comparable 2005 period.Operating income includes 1) approximately $16 million in costs incurred in2005 related to the ongoing billing investigation and associated litigation,which represents an increase of approximately $11 million over similar costsincurred for the comparable time period in 2004 and 2) approximately $3million in costs associated with separation and replacement of the Company'smanagement team, including members at the executive level, which representsand increase of approximately $2 million over similar costs incurred for thecomparable time period in 2004. In addition, the base business, as describedabove in the Revenues section experienced a decline in transcription servicerates charged to customers. The impact of the revenue decline was partiallyoffset by several cost saving initiatives including reductions intelecommunications costs, office consolidations and associated staffreductions. The Company continues to strive for improved profitabilitythrough service and technology enhancement initiatives, along with other costreductions. Three months ended June 30, 2005 Revenues: Preliminary, unaudited results indicate that the Company's revenuedecreased from approximately $114 million for the three months ended June 30,2004 to approximately $106 million for the comparable 2005 period. The declinein revenues includes the impact of the result of reductions in contractedtranscription service rates from existing clients, further affected by newtranscription business service volume replacing lost transcription servicevolume at a lower average price. As noted above, management expects thesepricing pressures to continue and for revenue in the second half of 2005 todecline from first half levels. Operating Income: Preliminary results indicate that operating income declined fromapproximately $7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2004 to anoperating loss of approximately $6 million for the comparable 2005 period.Operating income includes 1) approximately $9.5 million in costs incurred in2005 related to the ongoing billing investigation and associated litigation,which represents an increase of approximately $5.5 million over similar costsincurred for the comparable time period in 2004 and 2) $1 million in costsassociated with separation and replacement of the Company's management team,including members at the executive level. In addition, the base business, asdescribed above in the Revenues section experienced a decline in transcriptionservice rates charged to customers. The impact of the revenue decline waspartially offset by several cost saving initiatives including reductions intelecommunications costs, office consolidations and associated staffreductions. The Company continues to strive for improved profitabilitythrough service and technology enhancement initiatives, along with other costreductions. Balance Sheet Highlights: At June 30, 2005, the Company had $198 million in cash and cashequivalents and no debt. There were no additional issuances of capital stockor other securities for the six month period ended June 30, 2005. About MedQuist: MedQuist, a member of the Philips Group of Companies, is a leadingprovider of electronic medical transcription, health information and documentmanagement products and services. MedQuist provides document workflowmanagement, digital dictation, speech recognition, mobile dictation devices,Web-based transcription, electronic signature, medical coding products andoutsourcing services. Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the statements in this Press Release constitute forward-lookingstatements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995. These statements are not historical facts but rather arebased on the Company's current expectations, estimates and projectionsregarding the Company's business, operations and other factors relatingthereto. Words such as may, will, could, would, should,anticipate, predict, potential, continue, expects, intends,plans, projects, believes, estimates and similar expressions are usedto identify these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statementscontained in this Press Release include, without limitation, statements aboutthe Company's results of operations and financial condition. These statementsare only predictions and as such are not guarantees of future performance andinvolve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events ofthe Company's future financial performance that may not prove to be accurate.Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed orforecast in these forward-looking statements. As a result, these statementsspeak only as of the date they were made, and the Company undertakes noobligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. TheCompany's actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements formany reasons, including any direct or indirect impact of the matters disclosedin the Form 12b-25 filed by the Company on August 19, 2005 on the Company'soperating results or financial condition; any continuation of pricingpressures and declining billing rates; difficulties relating to theimplementation of management changes throughout the Company; and the outcomeof pending and future legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations.
Transcend and MDI Founder Announce Stock Option Agreement [2005-08-19]
ATLANTA -- Aug. 18, 2005 -- Transcend SERVICES, INC. (Nasdaq SmallCap: TRCR) today announced that a co-founder of Medical Dictation Inc. (MDI), Sue McGrogan, has agreed to invest $200,000 in Transcend as of August 15, 2005 through the purchase of 71,942 shares of common stock. This purchase is part of an overall option agreement that provides four options to purchase $200,000 each that could result in $800,000 of total investment over the next two years. Half of the investment will be in cash and the other half in the forgiveness of a note due to Sue McGrogan from her sale of MDI to Transcend. These purchases will be made at a price of 110% of the average market price for the ten trading days prior to said purchase. The remaining three options are exercisable on the six- month anniversary dates of the execution of the option agreement and cannot be carried forward once the option date has passed.
MDI is a transcription company that has been in operation since 1988 in Brooksville, Florida founded by Sue McGrogan and her mother Liz McGrogan. The McGrogans first entered the industry in 1972 as owner-operators of a medical transcription company in New Jersey. MDI recently became a wholly owned subsidiary of Transcend.
Both Liz and Sue McGrogan have played an important role in Transcend since the acquisition of MDI by Transcend on January 31, 2005. Liz currently serves as interim general manager at MDI, which has grown from $6.4 million in revenue in 2004 to a current annualized level of over $8 million. Sue is a Business Unit Manager at Transcend, managing a significant portion of Transcend's field operations. Alex Munoz, Transcend's EVP of Operations stated, Having worked closely with Liz and Sue during the integration of our two companies, their level of increased commitment is exciting as we continue to make changes within the company. Liz McGrogan agreed, commenting, We are both very excited about the future of Transcend and MDI, and the potential growth through new business and acquisitions. Sue added, The decision to invest money into Transcend is indicative of our confidence in Transcend and its future.
ZyDoc Extends Clinical Data Center For Pharmaceutical Research [2005-08-10]
ZyDoc, an award-winning technology leader in e-Transcription and Automated Medical Documentation Solutions, announced that it will be offering a customizable suite of clinical data solutions, MedDocTM designed to fulfill the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The solutions will be used for clinical and marketing research, FDA studies, and post-approval drug monitoring. Currently, these systems are used by physicians for transcription and extended value of EMR (electronic medical records) and PAC systems by allowing the doctors to expedite data capture into the systems with dictation.
Hauppauge, New York (PRWEB) August 10, 2005 -- ZyDoc, an award-winning technology leader in e-Transcription and Automated Medical Documentation Solutions, announced that it will be offering a customizable suite of clinical data solutions, MedDocTM designed to fulfill the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The solutions will be used for clinical and marketing research, FDA studies, and post-approval drug monitoring. Currently, these systems are used by physicians for transcription and extended value of EMR (electronic medical records) and PAC systems by allowing the doctors to expedite data capture into the systems with dictation.James Maisel, M.D., Chairman of ZyDoc explains, ZyDoc is delighted to offer our distinctive technology to the pharmaceutical industry. The companies innovative solutions allow a pharmaceutical company to effortlessly initiate an FDA study with web-based training with documentation, distribution of protocols, consents, and updates to an unlimited numbers of physicians from a centralized point. This remarkable solution is also well suited for physicians and eliminates their travel requirements for education and training. ZyDoc serves as the third-party administrator for the clinical studies, handling HIPAA requirements, and Business Associates Agreements with physicians and patients.ZyDoc has over 10 years of experience in working with physicians who want to document their medical encounters quickly and efficiently. ZyDoc offers low risk, high productivity solutions focused on dictation for data capture involving no change in work habits, infrastructure cost, outlays or extensive training. The company converts the dictations into web-based forms and enters the information into a relational database allowing searches on any data combinations. This provides an effective means for post approval monitoring of drug use and complications. The web-based TrackDoc system offers substantial advantages to physicians and investigator over tradit | | |