Cerner
Encyclopedia
Cerner Corporation is an international health care
information technology
corporation that specializes in providing complete systems for hospitals and other medical organizations to manage and integrate all electronic medical records, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and financial information.
Cerner claims to be the largest provider of electronic medical systems in the United States. Its largest competitor, McKesson Corporation, is larger in size but McKesson has income from other non-technology medical sources.
As of Second Quarter 2009 its systems are licensed by 8,000 facilities around the world including 2,100 hospitals, 1,500 pharmacies, and 3,300 physician practices representing 30,000 physicians.
It has more than 8,200 employees. , approximately 1,900 associates in the United States and 600 associates in India were involved full-time in the software development aspect of the company. Cerner has more than 6,000 clients worldwide.
, Paul Gorup, and Cliff Illig, who were colleagues at Arthur Andersen
. Its original name was PGI & Associates. It was renamed Cerner in 1984 when it rolled out its first system, PathNet. It went public in 1986.
In 2005 (the first year it passed $1 billion in sales), it acquired the Riverport Campus complex on the site of what was formerly the Sam's Town Casino above the Missouri River
in North Kansas City, Missouri
The world headquarters (WHQ) is across the street from North Kansas City Hospital
, which was Cerner's second hospital client.
In 2006 it also acquired the former Marion Laboratories complex for a South Campus in southeast Kansas City, Missouri
.
Its products include Powerchart and Millennium e-Booking, which is providing a code base for Choose and Book
.
In July 2010, president Trace Devanny left the company.
"Devanny’s responsibilities will be absorbed by the current organization. Neal Patterson will become the company’s president, in addition to his current role as Cerner’s chairman and chief executive officer."
, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation
, alleged that the installation of a computerized health system by Cerner in the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
in 2002 made it harder for the doctors and nurses to do their jobs in emergency situations and resulted in a "disaster". Longman goes on to say:
Defenders of Cerner in the study charged that the Pittsburgh hospital did not adequately prepare for the transition to the CPOE system in that it had at the same time significantly changed its pharmacy process, did not provide adequate wireless bandwidth, and did not have order sets pre-programmed on day one of the implementation. They noted that other hospitals that more carefully planned the implementation did not experience the same problems.
in 2001, a program of strict employee control was instituted due to some behavioral patterns and evidence Patterson perceived as being indicative of underachievement by Cerner's employees at the company's Kansas City, Missouri
office. Evidence used was primarily the CEO's perception of the fullness of the company parking lot at the hours of 8AM and 5PM, a metric he planned to also use to gauge the response of the employees to the program's new rules. The program itself consisted of such changes as staff reduction, a hiring freeze, closing of an "Associate Center," and the implementation of a punch-card system.
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
corporation that specializes in providing complete systems for hospitals and other medical organizations to manage and integrate all electronic medical records, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and financial information.
Cerner claims to be the largest provider of electronic medical systems in the United States. Its largest competitor, McKesson Corporation, is larger in size but McKesson has income from other non-technology medical sources.
As of Second Quarter 2009 its systems are licensed by 8,000 facilities around the world including 2,100 hospitals, 1,500 pharmacies, and 3,300 physician practices representing 30,000 physicians.
It has more than 8,200 employees. , approximately 1,900 associates in the United States and 600 associates in India were involved full-time in the software development aspect of the company. Cerner has more than 6,000 clients worldwide.
History
Cerner was founded in 1979 by Neal PattersonNeal Patterson
Neal L. Patterson is CEO of Cerner Corporation, a Kansas City-;based medical software corporation. He is also an owner of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team....
, Paul Gorup, and Cliff Illig, who were colleagues at Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
. Its original name was PGI & Associates. It was renamed Cerner in 1984 when it rolled out its first system, PathNet. It went public in 1986.
In 2005 (the first year it passed $1 billion in sales), it acquired the Riverport Campus complex on the site of what was formerly the Sam's Town Casino above the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
in North Kansas City, Missouri
North Kansas City, Missouri
North Kansas City is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States and is an independent municipality that is a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 4,714 as of the 2000 census but a large business/industrial base swells the daytime population by thousands more...
The world headquarters (WHQ) is across the street from North Kansas City Hospital
North Kansas City Hospital
North Kansas City Hospital is an acute care hospital located in North Kansas City, Missouri at 2800 Clay Edwards Drive.-Hospital Background:...
, which was Cerner's second hospital client.
In 2006 it also acquired the former Marion Laboratories complex for a South Campus in southeast Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Its products include Powerchart and Millennium e-Booking, which is providing a code base for Choose and Book
Choose and Book
Choose and Book , is an E-Booking software application which has been introduced to the National Health Service in England...
.
In July 2010, president Trace Devanny left the company.
"Devanny’s responsibilities will be absorbed by the current organization. Neal Patterson will become the company’s president, in addition to his current role as Cerner’s chairman and chief executive officer."
Subsidiaries
- Cerner Belgium, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner BeyondNow - MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
- Cerner Campus Redevelopment Corporation - MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
- Cerner Canada Limited - Canada
- Cerner Citation, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Corporation PTY Limited - New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(Australia) - Cerner Deutschland GmbH - IdsteinIdsteinIdstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
, Germany - Cerner DHT, Inc. - WalthamWaltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... - Cerner Etreby - Garden Grove, CaliforniaGarden Grove, CaliforniaGarden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
- Cerner Healthcare Solutions Private Limited - India
- Cerner Health Connections, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Iberia, S.L. - Spain
- Cerner India - BangaloreBangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
- Cerner Bangladesh - BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- Cerner Innovation, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner International, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Investment Corp. - NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
- Cerner Ireland - Dublin
- Cerner Latin America - Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
/ CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north... - Cerner Limited - United Kingdom
- Cerner Middle East FZ-LLC - Emirate of Dubai, UAE
- Cerner Multum, Inc. - Denver, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- Cerner Physician Practice, Inc. (formerly Vitalworks) - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Project IMPACT, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Properties, Inc. - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Cerner Radiology Information Systems, Inc. - Houston, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Cerner, SAS - France
- Cerner Singapore Limited - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- Cerner SDN BHD - Malaysia
Controversy
Phillip LongmanPhillip Longman
Phillip Longman is an American demographer. Presently he is a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, and he formerly worked as a senior writer and deputy assistant managing editor at U.S...
, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
, alleged that the installation of a computerized health system by Cerner in the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, a hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, is the only hospital in southwestern Pennsylvania dedicated solely to the care of infants, children and young adults. Care is provided by more than 700 board-certified pediatricians and pediatric...
in 2002 made it harder for the doctors and nurses to do their jobs in emergency situations and resulted in a "disaster". Longman goes on to say:
According to a study conducted by the hospital and published in the journal Pediatrics, 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 hospital did not adequately prepare for the transition to the CPOE system in that it had at the same time significantly changed its pharmacy process, did not provide adequate wireless bandwidth, and did not have order sets pre-programmed on day one of the implementation. They noted that other hospitals that more carefully planned the implementation did not experience the same problems.
2001 Memo
According to a memo published on the Internet allegedly authored by CEO Neal PattersonNeal Patterson
Neal L. Patterson is CEO of Cerner Corporation, a Kansas City-;based medical software corporation. He is also an owner of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team....
in 2001, a program of strict employee control was instituted due to some behavioral patterns and evidence Patterson perceived as being indicative of underachievement by Cerner's employees at the company's Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
office. Evidence used was primarily the CEO's perception of the fullness of the company parking lot at the hours of 8AM and 5PM, a metric he planned to also use to gauge the response of the employees to the program's new rules. The program itself consisted of such changes as staff reduction, a hiring freeze, closing of an "Associate Center," and the implementation of a punch-card system.