Cerner Corporation is an American supplier of
health information technology
Health information technology (HIT) is health technology, particularly information technology, applied to health and health care. It supports health information management across computerized systems and the health information exchange, secure ex ...
(HIT) services, devices, and hardware. As of February 2018, its products were in use at more than 27,000 facilities around the world.
The company had more than 29,000 employees globally, with over 13,000 in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. Its headquarters are in the suburb of
North Kansas City, Missouri
North Kansas City is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States. It is also enclaved in Kansas City. Even though the name is similar to its larger counterpart, Kansas City, it is an independent municipality part of the Kansas City metropolit ...
.
In December 2021,
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...
announced an agreement to buy Cerner for approximately $28.3 billion. The deal closed in June 2022.
History
Cerner was founded in 1979 by
Neal Patterson
Neal L. Patterson (December 10, 1949 – July 9, 2017) was an American businessman who was CEO of Cerner Corporation, a Kansas City-based medical software corporation. Patterson was also owner of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team.
Early life
...
, Paul Gorup, and Cliff Illig, who were colleagues at
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...
. Its original name was PGI & Associates but was renamed Cerner in 1984 when it rolled out its first system, PathNet. It went public in 1986. Cerner's client base grew steadily in the late 1980s, reaching 70 sites in 1987, 120 sites in 1988, 170 sites in 1989, and reaching 250 sites in 1990. Installations were primarily of PathNet systems.
During this time, Cerner was developing components of a Health Network Architecture (HNA), an integrated IT system designed to automate health care processes. Clients could purchase individual components or the whole system at one time. By 1994, more than 30 clients had purchased the full HNA system, while 100 clients had purchased multiple components of the system.
In 1997, the company introduced Cerner Millennium, an upgrade to its HNA system which incorporated all of the company's software offerings into one unified architecture. The introduction of Millennium contributed to significant growth for the company, with revenue increasing to $1.1 billion in 2005 from $245.1 million in 1997.
Cerner acquired IMC Health Care, Inc. in early 2010 to continue expanding its wellness services to outside commercial employers, pharmacies, and wellness programs.
In July 2010, president Trace Devanny left the company
and Patterson became the company's president, in addition to his roles as chairman and chief executive officer. In September 2013, Zane Burke was named president, assuming the title from Patterson.
On August 5, 2014, Cerner announced its intent to purchase Siemens Health Services, the health information technology business of Germany's
Siemens AG
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
, for $1.3 billion.
The acquisition was completed on February 2, 2015.
On July 29, 2015, Leidos Partnership for Defense Health, which includes Cerner,
Accenture
Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
, and
Leidos
Leidos, formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is an American defense, aviation, information technology (Lockheed Martin IS&GS), and biomedical research company headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that provides s ...
, was awarded a 10-year, $4.3 billion contract to overhaul and manage the electronic health records for the Department of Defense.
CEO and co-founder
Neal Patterson
Neal L. Patterson (December 10, 1949 – July 9, 2017) was an American businessman who was CEO of Cerner Corporation, a Kansas City-based medical software corporation. Patterson was also owner of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team.
Early life
...
died July 9, 2017.
On January 10, 2018, Brent Shafer was named Chairman and CEO and took over leadership responsibilities in February 2018.
In July 2019, Cerner announced that it would partner with
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...
.
On September 4, 2019, Cerner laid off 255 employees as part of an ongoing cost-cutting effort and reorganization.
In February 2020, Cerner sold parts of its healthcare IT business in Germany and Spain to German company CompuGroup Medical SE for EUR 225 million (USD 247.5M).
In 2020, Cerner announced the hire of three new C-suite executives including Jerome Labat as chief technology officer (CTO), Darrell Johnson as chief marketing officer (CMO) and William Mintz as chief strategy officer (CSO).
On August 19, 2021, Cerner announced that Dr. David Feinberg, vice-president and head of
Google Health
Google Health is a branch of Google started in 2006, originally designed as an to attempt to create a repository of health records and data (personal health record services) in order to connect doctors, hospitals and pharmacies directly. The pr ...
, will become President and CEO of Cerner, effective October 1, 2021.
On December 20, 2021,
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...
announced an agreement to buy Cerner for approximately $28.3 billion. The deal closed in June 2022.
Products
The company's products include:
* Millennium+, a cloud hosted EHR (Electronic Health Record).
* Cerner FirstNet, emergency department system
* Cerner RadNet Radiology Information System (RIS)
* Cerner Learning Framework
The
Cerner CCL
Cerner CCL (Cerner Command Language) is the Cerner Corporation fourth-generation programming language, which is expressed in the Cerner Discern Explorer solution. CCL is patterned after the Structured Query Language (SQL). All Cerner Millennium h ...
(Cerner Command Language), is a SQL-like programming language developed by Cerner.
Controversy
In 2001, a memo authored by CEO Patterson and sent to about 400 managers was leaked online. The memo, written in harsh language, was meant to motivate the managers to get more productivity out of employees and promised layoffs, a hiring freeze, closing of an "Associate Center," and the implementation of a punch-card system if Patterson did not see evidence of changes. Patterson's metric was the fullness of the company's Kansas City office lot at the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The memo was widely seen as inflammatory and poor management, and Cerner's stock price fell 22% over three days.
In 2005, Cerner and other companies paid for a report by the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
which predicted great efficiencies from
electronic health record
An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...
s, including savings of $81 billion a year or more, which RAND now says is overstated. This report helped drive growth in the electronic health record and billions of dollars in federal incentives to hospitals and doctors. Cerner's revenue tripled from $1 billion in 2005 to a projected $3 billion in 2013. The study was criticized by the
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...
for overstating potential savings. A 2013 reassessment of the 2005 report by the RAND Corporation said that the conversion had failed to produce savings and had mixed results in efficiency and patient care.
[Reed Abelson and Julie Crewswell]
In 2nd Look, Few Savings From Digital Health Records"
''The New York Times'', January 11, 2013.
Canada
In 2016, the
emergency department
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in
Nanaimo
Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
began using the system. The implementation, which cost $230 million, was met with widespread criticism, with staff calling it a "huge failure" due to an increase in software errors resulting in reduced efficiency of the department. An investigation by British Columbia's Health Ministry indicated that the project was not correctly planned or implemented and that organizational dysfunction at the facility contributed to the failure.
United Kingdom
In 2014, a
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
ruled that a three-year-old heart patient died as a result of a delay to his treatment at
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, also known as the Bristol Children's Hospital, is a paediatric hospital in Bristol and the only paediatric major trauma centre in South West England. The hospital is part of the University Hospitals Bristol ...
. The coroner ruled that the hospital's outpatient booking system was responsible for the child not being seen or receiving treatment. The Royal United Hospital had recently installed the Cerner Millennium system. However appointments for the hospital's legacy booking system were not migrated to the new system.
United States
In 2002, the installation of a
computerized health system by Cerner in the
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), popularly known simply as Children's, is part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the only hospital in Greater Pittsburgh dedicated solely to the care of infants, children, teens and ...
made it harder for the doctors and nurses to do their jobs in emergency situations and resulted in a "disaster," according to
Phillip Longman
Phillip Longman (born April 21, 1956, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany) is a conservative American demographer. Presently he is a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, and he formerly worked as a senior writer and depu ...
, a senior fellow at the
New America Foundation
New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is a think tank in the United States founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security studies, technology, asset building, health, gender, energy, educa ...
. Longman wrote, "According to a study conducted by the hospital and published in the journal ''
Pediatrics
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...
'', mortality rates for one vulnerable patient population—those brought by emergency transport from other facilities—more than doubled, from 2.8 percent before the installation to almost 6.6 percent afterward." Defenders of Cerner in the study charged that the
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
hospital did not adequately prepare for the transition to the Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) system because it had simultaneously modified its pharmacy process, did not provide adequate wireless bandwidth, and did not have order sets pre-programmed on day one. They stated that other hospitals that more carefully planned the implementation did not experience the same problems.
In 2010, Girard Medical Center,
Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States:
* Crawford County, Arkansas
* Crawford County, Georgia
* Crawford County, Illinois
* Crawford County, Indiana
* Crawford County, Iowa
* Crawford County, Kansas
* Crawford County, ...
, Kansas, hired Cerner to install an electronic records system. But after receiving $1.3 million, Cerner employees failed to get the system running in time to qualify for federal incentive payments, and in September 2011, notified the hospital that it was abandoning the project, according to a lawsuit Girard filed against Cerner. Cerner and executives at Girard agreed that Girard did not have adequate staff to manage the acquisition and implementation of the system. As of June 2014, the case remained in arbitration.
[Shaun Sutner for Health IT Pulse. June 20, 201]
2014 so far a bumpy stretch for Cerner Corp.
/ref> The outcome of the Girard case will likely be kept confidential due to contract provisions.
In 2012, Trinity Health, a large hospital in North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, sued Cerner, claiming that Cerner's patient accounting software didn't work correctly; the parties settled for $106M in 2014.
In 2014, a grand jury in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
found that Cerner knew that the Ventura County healthcare agency was unprepared to complete a $32 million installation. Also in 2014, a $31 million Cerner implementation at the Athens Regional Health System in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
had many problems, leading to forced resignations by the CEO and the CIO of ARHS.[
]
Sweden
Concern has been expressed that the US CLOUD Act could enable US authorities to request data managed by US companies. It has been reported in Sweden that patient data managed by Cerner might be disclosed based on this requirement. Based on this concern, the Vastra Gotland and Skana region health care systems have decided to store any patient data managed by Cerner in Swedish data centers.
In 2022, the regional director of the Vastra Gotaland health care system in Sweden sent a letter to Cerner claiming a breach of contract for deployment of the Millenium system. The letter stated that there were numerous issues with the system that Cerner had declined to address. At the same time, a deployment of Millenium in region Skane has been delayed but is moving forward.
Locations
Cerner's world headquarters campus is at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway, North Kansas City, Missouri. It acquired additional space in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
in 2005 and in 2006 it acquired another location in Kansas City. In 2013, Cerner announced plans to redevelop 236 acres in south Kansas City, Missouri into an office park. The site was previously occupied by Bannister Mall
Bannister Mall was a shopping mall in the southeast corner of Kansas City, Missouri opened on August 6, 1980. After nearly 27 years of operation, the mall closed on May 31, 2007. It was originally anchored by Macy's (which became Dillard's in 1986 ...
, which was demolished in 2009. Cerner broke ground on the new campus on November 11, 2014. The $4.45 billion project intends to employ 16,000 new Cerner workers within the decade.
Cerner has offices in about 25 countries worldwide.Bloomberg profile
Page accessed July 22, 2015
File:Realization Campus.jpg, Since 2006 Cerner has also occupied space in the former Marion Laboratories
Marion Merrell Dow and its predecessor Marion Laboratories was a U.S. pharmaceutical company based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1950 until 1996.
The company specialized in bringing to market drugs that had been discovered but unmarketed by other ...
in Kansas City, MO
File:Innovations first floor.jpg, Ground floor of Cerner Innovations Campus in Kansas City, MO
File:Malvern Corp 3.jpg, Cerner Health Services building in Malvern, PA
References
External links
*
{{authority control, state=expanded
Software companies established in 1979
Health care companies based in Missouri
Companies based in the Kansas City metropolitan area
Electronic health record software companies
Software companies based in Missouri
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
1979 establishments in Missouri
Health care companies established in 1979
1980s initial public offerings
Software companies of the United States
American companies established in 1979
2022 mergers and acquisitions
Oracle acquisitions
American corporate subsidiaries