Cerner and Omnicell Align to Deliver Enhanced Interoperability

Relationship to Offer New Model of Interoperability Leading to Streamlined Clinical Workflows

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMCL) and Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN) today announced the formation of an agreement focused on interoperability between Cerner® and Omnicell® solutions using the CareAware iBus™.

This relationship was formed to decrease implementation costs, time, and maintenance for shared clients, while providing new clinical workflows to enhance efficiency and patient safety. The planned plug-and-play solution is intended to bring a new model of interoperability to the industry. Under the agreement Omnicell will be able to offer their Cerner customers a complete, turnkey solution.

The CareAware iBus is Cerner's solution that connects medical devices bidirectionally to any electronic health record to support the entire care process. By integrating with CareAware iBus, Omnicell products will provide access to information and enable transformative workflows, previously unavailable through traditional interface standards. The joint development plan provides for connectivity to the CareAware iBus for the entire Omnicell G4 platform of products: pharmacy automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs), supply ADCs, Anesthesia Workstation™, Controlled Substance Management System (CSM), Anywhere RN™, and Savvy™ Mobile Medication System.

"For over 20 years, Omnicell has demonstrated a record of integrating our solutions across a wide variety of healthcare organizations," said Nhat Ngo, executive vice president of strategy and business development at Omnicell. "This collaboration shows the power of two companies coming together to address the evolving needs of healthcare providers. Interoperability is an absolute must in today's rapidly changing healthcare environment, and this new relationship will help ensure our customers gain the maximum return on their Omnicell and Cerner investments."

Cerner, ranked number fourteen on the list of most innovative companies by Forbes, and Omnicell, KLAS leader seven years in a row, have a development roadmap including new capabilities that will take advantage of information available through direct device and system interoperability to the CareAware iBus. The planned functionality focuses on patient-centric medication and supply management processes, rather than the logistics of the items being managed, which is the more common practice today. The Cerner and Omnicell alliance is expected to:

  • Streamline medication and supply management processes throughout the health care enterprise;
  • Drive down hospital costs and improve care by reducing the complexity of care delivery;
  • Ensure complete and accurate data capture throughout the medication administration and management process, as well as perioperative care.

"This agreement further demonstrates the positive benefits of interoperability facilitated by the CareAware iBus platform," said Randy Lantz, VP of Engineering for Cerner DeviceWorks. "CareAware iBus ensures that providers can not only connect medical devices to the EMR quickly but also better drive clinical workflow. We are also exploring the opportunity that partners, like Omnicell, can leverage Cerner's remote hosting capability."

"We see the Cerner-Omnicell relationship as a positive step towards the future of integrated healthcare," said Don Mabe, associate vice president inpatient pharmacy at Carolinas HealthCare System. "The vision Omnicell and Cerner have shared provides critical steps to bringing enhanced patient safety and improved workflows to our facilities."

About Omnicell

Omnicell, Inc. is a leading provider of automation and business information solutions enabling hospitals and other healthcare organizations to streamline the medication administration process and manage costly medical supplies for increased operational efficiency and enhanced patient safety. Through seamless integration with a customer's existing IT infrastructure, Omnicell solutions empower healthcare facilities to achieve comprehensive automation of medication and supply management from the arrival at the loading dock to the patient's bedside. Omnicell also provides healthcare facilities with business analytics software designed to improve medication diversion detection and regulatory compliance.

Since 1992, more than 2,600 hospital customers worldwide have utilized Omnicell's medication automation, supply chain, and analytics solutions to enable them to increase patient safety, improve efficiency and address changing healthcare regulations while providing effective control of costs, charge capture for payer reimbursement and inventory management of medications and supplies.

For more information about Omnicell, please visit www.omnicell.com.

About Cerner

Cerner is contributing to the systemic change of health and care delivery. For more than 30 years Cerner has been executing its vision to make health care safer and more efficient. We started with the foundation of digitizing paper processes and now offer the most comprehensive array of information software, professional services, medical device integration, remote hosting and employer health and wellness services. Cerner systems are used by everyone from individual consumers, to single-doctor practices, hospitals, employers and entire countries. Taking what we've learned over more than three decades, Cerner is building on the knowledge that is in the system to support evidence-based clinical decisions, prevent medical errors and empower patients in their care.

Cerner® solutions are licensed by approximately 9,300 facilities around the world, including more than 2,650 hospitals; 3,750 physician practices; 40,000 physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 800 home health facilities; 40 employer sites and 1,600 retail pharmacies.

Certain trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively, the "Marks") set forth herein are owned by Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and certain other countries throughout the world. All other non-Cerner Marks are the property of their respective owners. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com, TwitterFacebook and YouTube.

Cerner Media Contact: Megan Moriarty, (816) 888-2470, [email protected]
Cerner Investors Contact: Allan Kells, (816) 201-2445, [email protected]

SOURCE Omnicell, Inc