MEDQ Medquist, Inc. (MM)

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Austin, TX, AHDI 2010 Annual Convention & Expo -- MedQuist Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDQ), a leading provider of medical transcription services, and a leader in technology-enabled clinical documentation workflow, announced the winners of its 2010 Medical Transcriptionist of the Year Award on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the AHDI Annual Convention and Expo in Austin, TX.

As a part of its comprehensive Rewards and Recognition Program, MedQuist, a platinum sponsor of the AHDI convention, honored its top 10 medical transcriptionists (MTs) with an all expenses paid trip to the event.  These individuals were chosen to attend the show because they represent the best of the best of MedQuist's more than 6,000 domestic employees and were honored for their work ethic, attitude, professionalism, customer focus, integrity, and commitment to MedQuist's Core Values.  Each MT was selected and interviewed by several members of the MedQuist management team.  "MedQuist's commitment to rewarding their exceptional MTs with registration to the AHDI national convention couldn't have come at a better time as the U.S. healthcare system undergoes sweeping reforms and embraces electronic exchange of health information," states AHDI CEO, Peter Preziosi, PhD, CAE.  "MTs joined colleagues from around the country to learn about healthcare documentation best practices, trends and issues transforming the profession, and the latest in data capture and documentation technology tools."  

Of the 10 finalists, Tiffany Fulkerson and Kristin Pritchett were chosen by the Senior Executive Team as MedQuist's 2010 MTs of the Year and were acknowledged by MedQuist Chief Operating Officer, Michael Clark, in front of an audience of their peers during the No Limits Integrity Awards Brunch on Saturday, August 7, 2010.  

"Congratulations to the winners.  I speak for the entire Senior Executive Team when I say that we are delighted and proud to have individuals like Tiffany and Kristin as part of the MedQuist organization.  It is obvious that they both take tremendous pride in their work and consistently demonstrate a strong commitment to patient care and customer satisfaction," says MedQuist CEO, Peter Masanotti.

As a platinum sponsor of the event, MedQuist continued its mission of supporting the industry, which includes MTs, managers/supervisors, educators, and healthcare professionals, and demonstrating thought leadership with cutting-edge educational sessions for the medical transcription community.

In addition to the activities surrounding the announcement of MedQuist's 2010 MTs of the Year, Vice President of Quality, DeeAnn Logan, participated in a panel discussion titled QA Best Practices:  Collaborative Approach to Quality Outcomes.  During this session, attendees had the opportunity to get a first glance at the new QA Best Practices document and how the collaborative approach from many stakeholders has reshaped communication, measurement, reporting, and continuous improvement processes for healthcare documentation quality.

Mr. Clark also participated in a panel discussion on Saturday, August 7, 2010.  The Sky's the Limit -- Future Roles for the Evolving MT session explored how the industry is changing in response to the HITECH Act.  Panelists discussed new jobs and roles in private practice, in MTSO companies, and in hospital settings as well as provided insight into possible roles of the future, education needed to perform those roles, and credentialing in this new HIM future.

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.

"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.

About AHDI

The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), formerly the American Association for Medical Transcription, is the world's largest professional society representing the clinical documentation sector whose purpose is to set and uphold standards for education and practice in the field of health data capture and documentation that ensure the highest level of accuracy, privacy, and security for the U.S. healthcare system in order to protect public health, increase patient safety, and improve quality of care for healthcare consumers.  AHDI works to advocate for workforce development and credentialing in allied health and the critical role of the technology-enabled documentation knowledge worker in the electronic health record (EHR).

SOURCE MedQuist