Medical transcription firm buys outsourcing rival

Spheris, the nation's second-largest medical transcription company, acquired competitor Avicis, the third-largest provider of outsourced medical-transcription services. Spheris, Franklin, Tenn., employs about 5,000 medical transcriptionists who provide technology and services to more than 450 health systems, hospitals and group practices in the U.S. and Canada. Sterling, Va.-based Avicis, formerly known as HealthScribe, currently serves about 150 healthcare facilities with a workforce of about 1,800 medical transcriptionists. The expanded scope of the larger company, officials said, will help the healthcare industry move more quickly toward paperless medical records. The nation's leader in this industry sector, MedQuist, Mount Laurel, N.J., employs about 8,600 transcriptionists serving more than 3,000 healthcare organizations. -- by Michael Romano