MT. LAUREL, N.J., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedQuist Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDQ), a leading provider of technology-enabled clinical documentation services, today announces that it has completed the purchase of the domestic business of Spheris Inc. Simultaneously, CBay Inc., MedQuist's majority owner, has acquired the stock of Spheris India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Spheris. Together, the combined companies will offer unprecedented opportunities for healthcare providers to improve their clinical documentation and drive toward EHR adoption faster and at a lower cost, through the advanced technology and domestic and global services now available.

MedQuist CEO Peter Masanotti comments, "This is a very exciting development for the clinical documentation industry and the healthcare facilities we serve. We are pleased to welcome Spheris customers and employees to MedQuist. We pursued this transaction knowing that Spheris' resources and experience would perfectly complement our suite of services and technologies to deliver cost-effective, high quality clinical documentation."

He adds, "Our recent results have demonstrated that the market has been very receptive to MedQuist technologies and services, and we expect that new synergies with Spheris will only help us to increase our momentum and enhance our offerings to current and prospective customers. We look forward to leading the way in innovation and customer care as a strong, financially stable, fully integrated organization."

Both MedQuist and Spheris are coordinating customer communications and ongoing services to assure that historical high service levels and customer satisfaction are continued in a seamless manner, supporting their customers' patient care mission.

About MedQuist

MedQuist is a leading provider of medical transcription services, and a leader in technology-enabled clinical documentation workflow. MedQuist's enterprise solutions - including mobile voice capture devices, speech recognition, Web-based workflow platforms, and global network of medical editors - help healthcare facilities improve patient care, increase physician satisfaction, and lower operational costs. For more information, please visit www.medquist.com.

MedQuist offers an industry-leading healthcare information management platform (DocQment Enterprise Platform®), which serves as the foundation for its transcription service offerings and includes workflow management, core measures reporting, structured documentation, data analytics, and key customer reporting. In addition, MedQuist solutions include SpeechQ(TM) real-time interactive speech recognition for radiology and general medicine, DocQvoice(TM) for capturing dictation, and computer-assisted coding and abstracting. This blend of solutions drives document quality and accuracy and advances the adoption of electronic health records -- resulting in improved patient care and higher levels of efficiency.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding MedQuist's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. 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.

SOURCE MedQuist Inc.