Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

We account for goodwill and other intangible assets in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 350 – Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. Under this Topic, goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are tested at least annually for impairment rather than being amortized like intangible assets with finite useful lives, which are amortized over their useful lives. A portion of the respective purchase prices of the acquisitions of Medical Dictation, Inc. ("MDI") and PracticeXpert in 2005, OTP Technologies, Inc. ("OTP") in 2007, DeVenture Global Partners, Inc. ("DeVenture"), Transcription Relief Services, Inc. ("TRS") and Medical Dictation Services, Inc. ("MDSI") in 2009, Heartland in 2010 and DTS and Salar in 2011 were attributed to goodwill and other intangible assets.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Rounded to the nearest thousand)

		September 30, 2011						December 31, 2010
	Useful Life in Years	Gross Assets		Accumulated Amortization		Net Assets		Gross Assets		Accumulated Amortization		Net Assets
Goodwill		$	46,509,000	$	—	$	46,509,000	$	28,246,000	$	—	$	28,246,000
Amortized intangible assets:
Covenants not to compete	4 - 5	478,000		140,000		338,000		218,000		101,000		117,000
Trademarks	2	80,000		7,000		73,000		—		—		—
Technology	2 - 5	1,530,000		135,000		1,395,000		190,000		19,000		171,000
Customer relationships	5-10	13,181,000		2,408,000		10,773,000		8,381,000		1,614,000		6,767,000
Total goodwill and intangible assets		$	61,778,000	$	2,690,000	$	59,088,000	$	37,035,000	$	1,734,000	$	35,301,000

Amortization expense was $425,000 and $164,000 for the quarters ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $956,000 and $501,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Estimated amortization expense for the next five fiscal years is as follows:



Fiscal Year	Amount
Remainder of 2011	$	478,000
2012	1,846,000
2013	1,750,000
2014	1,712,000
2015	1,674,000
2016	1,527,000

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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