M*Modal Teams Up With Merge Healthcare

M*Modal has entered into a partnership with Merge Healthcare to integrate its speech and language understanding technology across Merge's portfolio, including its imaging and radiology offerings.

Under the partnership, M*Modal becomes a preferred partner of Merge with plans to integrate its speech and natural language understanding (NLU) into Merge's solutions to help clients achieve meaningful use and contextual narrative capture. Together, M*Modal and Merge will look to accelerate adoption of speech-based solutions across the Merge network of clients, including 1,500 hospitals and 6,000 clinics with such specialties as imaging (representing one-third of all U.S. imaging centers), cardiology, orthopaedics and eye care, along with a full suite of clinical trials solutions.

"Given the increasing marketplace demand for speech-based solutions, we are delighted to add M*Modal to our growing list of partners as it both extends our market reach and enhances our product usability and functionality," Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare, said in a statement. "We value the innovative nature of M*Modal's solutions and the company's commitment to collaboration as it enables healthcare technology leaders like Merge to deliver innovation to its solution offerings that will ultimately enhance our customers' ability to deliver care."

Earlier this week MedQuist Holdings changed its name to M*Modal. The move was designed to expand the company's core transcription business, open new markets, increase the sales force and development resources, and leverage its intellectual property portfolio.