Cerner

ALSO NOTED: Med mal insurer pays dividends; Georgia trauma centers at risk; and much more...

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:01:30 -0400

> With claims falling, medical malpractice insurer The Doctors Co. is paying out more than $100 million in dividends to doctors in several states. Article

> It's just another step in the unholy dance that is trauma coverage in the U.S. This time, two of Georgia's trauma hospitals are considering either cutting back spending or dropping their Level I trauma centers entirely. Article

> Ohio's acute care hospitals aren't too happy with the growing influx of specialty facilities, which they say aren't carrying their fair share of uncompensated care--so they're proposing a fairly radical fix. Article

> A group of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans are pulling together data on 11 million patients into a widely-accessible EMR. Article

> HHS has thrown its weight behind an effort to establish international EMR standards. Article

> Cerner and its partners are debuting a new card which let consumers use their health savings account to pay for care on the spot. Article

> New wireless devices which can be implanted in patients--or even swallowed--are becoming steadily more popular. Article

> E-prescribing continues to gain momentum. A recent example is Columbus, Ohio-based OhioHealth, which is rolling it out to 2,300 physicians. Article

And Finally... It's time we all get a healthy dose of dirt. Blog

ALSO NOTED: MA spends most on healthcare; Number of uninsured down; and much more...

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> A new study by researchers at Boston University claims that Massachusetts has the most expensive health care system in the world. Article

> Neil Versel reports in Health IT World that Care New England Health System in Providence, RI has been using software from Core Security Technologies to protect its network as it goes live with Cerner and PHRs. Article

> A new NCVHS report suggests that uninsurance fell slightly in 2005. Their estimate is that 41.6 million Americans are uninsured. Perhaps more interesting, the number with public insurance coverage now exceeds those with private coverage. Report (.pdf)

> In the U.K., a pilot project is using podcasts to educate patients about their conditions. Article

> GPO Premier says that improved patient care can save lives and money. Really!Article

> CalPERS rejected a proposal to increase co-pays for its union members. Article

> McKesson is standing by its FY 2007 earnings outlook. Article

> A plastic surgeon working for Kaiser Permanente is let go after gun charges are filed against him and a series of patients accuse him of sexual assault. Article

And Finally... The U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup today courtesy of a very dubious refereeing decision. We can't think of a health care angle, we just think you ought to know! Article

SPOTLIGHT: Report criticizes NHS IT project

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Britain's National Audit Office released a report warning that delays in the implementation of the country's massive health IT project may "hurt public confidence in the project." Meanwhile, the behind-the-scenes jostling between Cerner and GE Healthcare for control of the London phase of the project is continuing. Report (.pdf)

Cerner to acquire Galt & Associates

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:01:36 -0400

This is another noteworthy deal for Cerner, which as been the subject of rumors involving the massive NHS IT project in the U.K. The Kansas City-based maker of healthcare software appears to be making good on Neal Patterson's pledge to expand into new territory with the acquisition of Galt & Associates, a maker of drug safety and clinical data management systems. The Fairfax, VA-based company has 10 employees and recorded $9.5 million in revenue last year.

- see this article from the Business Journal of Kansas City

BT said to favor Cerner in NHS deal

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:01:35 -0400

British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has been asked to block an attempt by BT to oust GE Healthcare as the provider of electronic medical record software for the London region and replace the company with rival Cerner. BT officials are reportedly unhappy with the slow pace of GE's implementation effort on the project. Last year, Fujitsu made waves when it dumped IDX for Cerner in the U.K.'s southern region. Of course, any change will have major implications for both GE Healthcare and Kansas City-based Cerner.

- see this article from The Financial Times

Brownback proposes medical record banks

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced legislation that would encourage the formation of a national health information network by creating non-profit cooperative banks where medical records would be stored. Supporters say the Independent Health Record Bank Act would make healthcare more efficient by centralizing records and also introduce a needed element of neutrality. Under Brownback's legislation, consumers would have the final say over what is done with their medical records. The proposal also encourages the commercialization of patient data on a blinded basis, offering incentives to consumers who consent to the sale of their data for research. The legislation has the strong support of Kansas City based Cerner, where CEO Neal Patterson has said he wants to get involved as a broker in data sales.

- see this article from the Kansas City Star

e-Health execs have lower salaries

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 20:01:38 -0400

E-Health may be a buzzword in Washington and a much discussed goal in healthcare circles, but so far the executives that lead the companies at the forefront of health IT are making a lot less money than their colleagues in other areas of healthcare. AIS Health released its 2005 executive compensation survey this week. Topping the list is Cerner CEO Neal Patterson - who takes home $1.69 million. Not far behind is Emdeon's Martin Wygood, who is making $1.63 million. The study does not include data on long term compensation such as stock grants to executives.

- see this article from AIS Health

NPI movement gains ground

Mon, 29 May 2006 20:01:37 -0400

The debate over the national patient identifier (NPI) is reappearing. A Modern Healthcare article recounts the saga that began with the 1996 HIPAA legislation and was put on hold in 1998. Most vendors are using some type of probabilistic matching to identify patients--a technique using names, birth-dates, zip codes, etc. But several vendors don't think that solution works. Neal Patterson of Cerner has been outspoken about the need for a real NPI. Now RAND, which has done work on healthcare IT sponsored by Cerner before, is looking at the economics of using an NPI versus other techniques. Meanwhile, the Markle Foundation spent a year looking at the NPI a few years back and largely decided that it was unworkable. Of course in a world of identity theft, Congress may be very unwilling to look at the NPI issue again.

- read this article from Modern Healthcare

Cerner pursues new healthcare strategy

Mon, 29 May 2006 20:01:36 -0400

Cerner is giving an indication of the direction it thinks things are moving in healthcare IT. CEO Neal Patterson told shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Friday that he believes the time has come for Cerner to expand in four key areas after years of focusing its energies on the automation of care in the physician and hospital market. That means that Cerner will become more involved in research, eventually becoming a provider of aggregate data collected by health information networks for analysis of health trends, drug discovery and epidemic tracking.

Patterson says Cerner will also focus on healthcare financing, marketing itself to employers, insurers and government as a partner in the effort to contain healthcare costs. The company also hopes to focus on the market for medical devices, wiring everything from "hospital beds to medicine cabinets" to its software. Asked about the recent problems on Wall Street, where Cerner shares have lost 10 percent of their value, Patterson sounds very optimistic. "In the long term, the stock market gets it right," he said.

- see this article from Kansas City Business Journal

SPOTLIGHT: Wall Street watches Cerner as shareholders meet

Thu, 25 May 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Cerner shareholders gathered to discuss the company's fortunes this morning and Wall Street is nervous. Cerner shares are up slightly this morning after an up and down week. Analysts have rated the company a strong buy because of its relatively dominant position in the healthcare IT market at a time when interest in the sector is growing. Skeptics wonder if competition may erode that advantage. Meanwhile, Business 2.0 has named the company to its list of the top 100 fastest growing companies. Article