Description
Cerner Corporation is an American supplier of health information technology (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. Its headquarters are in the suburb of North Kansas City, Missouri.
In December 2021, Oracle Corporation 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, Paul Gorup, and Cliff Illig, who were colleagues at Arthur Andersen. 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, 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, and Leidos, 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 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.
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, will become President and CEO of Cerner, effective October 1, 2021.
On December 20, 2021, Oracle Corporation announced an agreement to buy Cerner for approximately $28.3 billion. The deal closed in June 2022.
