Speech Applications & Solutions

Speech Applications & Solutions Featured Article

 

Nuance (News - Alert) Communications Inc., a provider of speech applications and solutions, has announced its plans to acquire Focus Infomatics Inc., a healthcare speech recognition editing services organization. At a purchase price of about $58 million, Nuance expects that the acquisition will reduce its earnings share on a GAAP basis by roughly 1 cent to 2 cents in 2007 and 1 cent to breakeven in fiscal year 2008.

 

This acquisition is expected to expand Nuance’s ability to deliver Web-based speech recognition editing services and significantly accelerate the company’s strategy to automate manual transcription in healthcare. This is a market with great opportunity as an estimated $15 billion is spent worldwide each year.

 

Focus brings to the transaction a proven technology and services portfolio, in conjunction with the Dictaphone iChart Web-based transcription solutions, to ensure efficient and scalable Internet deliver of automated transcription as a service.

 

Focus Infomatics is considered one of the most respected speech recognition services organizations in healthcare, serving some of the U.S.’s largest healthcare organizations, including Ardent Healthcare, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

 

To achieve its strategic goal of delivering superior customer satisfaction, turnaround time and cost efficiency, Focus Infomatics combines the use of speech recognition, a Web-based editing platform and an optimized India-based operation. As a result, Focus earned the 2006 Best in KLAS ranking by KLAS Enterprises, an independent organization that monitors performance of healthcare vendors worldwide.

 

"The pressing requirement for automation in the healthcare industry presents a significant opportunity for the adoption of Nuance speech-enabled solutions," said Paul Ricci, chairman and CEO at Nuance, in a Thursday statement.

 

"In particular, Focus' outstanding reputation for speech editing services and highly skilled workforce will support the rapid growth of iChart, our hosted speech-enabled transcription service. By combining Nuance's premier speech technology and Focus' proven services, we expect to accelerate our objective to eliminate manual transcription," Ricci added.

 

Nuance expects to see a boost in 2007 numbers as the acquisition can add between $7 million and $9 million in Dictaphone healthcare revenues. For fiscal year 2008, the company anticipates between $18 million and $22 million.

"It is clear that speech recognition is now an essential component of medical dictation and transcription as the healthcare industry drives toward efficiency and automation," said Anirudh Baheti, CEO of Focus Infomatics, in Thursday’s statement.

 

"Focus' customers have benefited substantially from speech technology for some time and our combined offerings fit naturally with the way doctors and medical practitioners work. We are delighted to join Nuance as the company has quickly become the industry leader for end-to-end healthcare transcription solutions."

 

Opportunities for speech-enabled processes are rapidly increasing in healthcare today. The transition to automated transcription and electronic medical records is accelerating at a swift pace, creating a wide market for speech-enabled, automated transcription solutions and services. Focus adds to Nuance’s already successful healthcare solutions by providing: accelerated growth for Dictaphone iChart; recurring revenue stream; and improved operating efficiencies

 

Nuance has been able to benefit from the consistent growth in automated speech technology demands throughout multiple industries. In the healthcare industry especially, this capability is taking off at breakneck speed and Nuance recognized that it needed to be ready to embrace the market growth in order to remain a dominant player.

 

This acquisition of Focus Infomatics will only help to strengthen the company’s positioning in the market and will provide clients, both existing and potential, with further solutions from which to choose when implementing their speech-enabled system. This expanded portfolio will make Nuance an even more formidable component in its market space.