Even as postrecession job growth stagnates, companies that organize and manage medical records are planning to add about 200 positions in Utah this summer.

About half of those jobs will be filled at ADP AdvancedMD, a South Jordan company whose Internet technology is used to improve health records management at small and mid-size medical practices.

The other 100 positions are opening up at MediConnect Global — on the same street in South Jordan — which uses similar technology to provide medical record retrieval and digitization services for clients in the legal, life insurance and health insurance industries.

"We feel extremely fortunate that MediConnect is continuing to grow during such a tenuous time in the economy," said Amy Rees Anderson, CEO of MediConnect Global, which has about 600 employees in Utah and 1,000 worldwide.

"Our ability to stay one step ahead of the current trends in health care, which include the rapid emergence of personal health records for consumers and the demand for consumers to become more engaged in their own care, enables MediConnect to excel at guiding both health payers and providers to meet this need," she added.

ADP AdvancedMD's growth plans follow AdvancedMD's acquisition in March by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), a Nasdaq-traded outsource company with $9 billion in revenue and 555,000 clients last year.

A major sector of ADP's operations involves the provision of human resources, payroll, taxes and benefits administration services to companies.

Adding electronic health record management to that portfolio is a logical and potentially profitable extension for the company, said Raul Villar, a 22-year ADP veteran, who is moving to Salt Lake City from New Jersey to take the helm at ADP AdvancedMD. Almost all of ADP AdvancedMD's 225 employees live in Utah.

"Health care and practice management is a category that's growing significantly — it's almost $15 billion on its own," Villar said in a telephone interview Monday.

"We believe this business has an ability to continue to grow 40 to 50 percent year over year. Now that it has the investment of [a major company] like ADP, this allows ADP AdvancedMD to take the next step forward," he added. "It's a highly fragmented industry. With the backing of ADP, we can do something similar to what we did in payroll, creating a national organization that provides these types of outsourcing services through [the Internet]."

Both Villar and MediConnect's Anderson said their companies are adding the kinds of jobs the state wants to attract.

While ADP AdvancedMD is adding a number of sales positions, some of which are conducted over the telephone or Internet, about 35 percent involve software development.

"This will help us expand our product and add feature functionality," he said. "These are all white-collar jobs that are salary-oriented, but we have a wide range of jobs, including engineers, testing and quality assurance. … These are real solid jobs to add into the Utah economy."

Anderson said MediConnect's openings also are companywide.

Positions include director of marketing, operations management and finance, account management and customer service. Many of those hired, she said, will be "medical record retrieval agents who coordinate with physicians to obtain patient medical records" for health and life insurance clients and attorneys.

"This new 100-person infusion of talent will enable the company to further extend its market leadership," added James Lee Sorenson, chairman of MediConnect Global's board.

mikeg@sltrib.com

Twitter: @sltribmikeg —

Medical jobs

Two South Jordan companies that deal with medical records for different types of clients are hiring this summer. They are:

• ADP AdvancedMD, 10876 S. River Front Parkway, www.advancedmd.com

• MediConnect Global, 10897 River Front Parkway, www. MediConnect.net.