Reading the quotes below, what is striking is the focus on medical device/EMR integration and an observation on Cerner’s part that P4P is driving IT purchases. Also, interesting Misys/Allscripts analysis. See Pattersons’ closing comment for a nice overview of the company’s outlook.
On Device Integration
“We are uniquely positioned to offer true closed-loop medication administration with all of our solutions on a common platform, including our RxStation medication dispensing units, which add an important additional level of safety and improved workflow. Other areas of emerging opportunity that represent what we called white space include revenue cycles, RIS/PACS, and device connectivity …
“And on device connectivity front, there’s a substantial amount of opportunity both inside and outside of our installed base as we are still in the very early stages of adoption for solutions that connect medical devices to the EMR. And our early success in this space leads me to believe that we will benefit significantly as more hospitals look to improve safety and workflow by integrating the information from their medical devices with their clinical systems.”
On P4P
Jeffrey Townsend, EVP — “Today the most consistent trend worldwide is to increase the measurement of quality than linking those to pay for performance initiatives.”Michael Valentine — “What we see them very focused on is positioning themselves for the pay for performance initiatives, and continuing their journeys around efficiencies, leveraging our technologies.”
On Allscripts/Misys
Michael Valentine —“When we look at the merger between Allscripts and Misys, we don’t see them getting lift from that. And we specifically we don’t see them better positioned because of that vis-à-vis the way the prospects and clients are purchasing today the PowerWorks model.”
On Providers Selecting Systems
Michael Valentine — “I will comment on the U.S. We really haven’t seen a fundamental change in the selection processes. In a typical situation, a prospect hires a third party to help them navigate the process and there really has been very little innovation. I would say that, in general the market puts a high value on seeing and touching and client reference ability and really seeing the achievements that a solution provider has delivered.
“So, we view that as playing into our strengths. We’ve always done well, connecting into the C suite. They continue to drive decisions. There are obviously clinical constituencies that are supporting the process. But we continue to monitor everyone. Every opportunity has a tendency to play out in some unique aspect. But, the fundamentals of the selection processes really haven’t changed.”
Closing Comments
Neal Patterson — “So let me say a few comments here in closing. Most times during my reflection of what we do, I will clearly get out what we do is very hard. We’re this strange layer of the new healthcare delivery systems whether it is hospitals, doctors’ offices, laboratories, retail pharmacy we touch everything. So that’s what makes what we do very, very hard. So there is going to be in Victoria and Australia and in the South and London or in the south in the U.K. there will be bumps to what we do.
“Fundamentally though almost all trends that I look at that are significant at Cerner are positive and most of them are very positive. Those of you that know me know that I’m very, very critical and I’m fairly transparent too. So we are developing a real powerful company here and it continues to evolve and it continues to grow in frankly strength.
“Plus our ability to innovate, we are funding that and then we are using that. And broadly, we’re creating another type of company, because our goal we are heads down here to finish this decade very, very strong, and our momentum is growing. We are going to end this decade very strong. And at the end, we are going to have a very significant strategic footprint in the United States without question.
“We will have a very major part of acute care where we are, if you will, the motherboard of how those health systems, or hospitals operate. It’ll be a smaller percent, but we will have an important and a growing percent of physician offices in as part of our footprint, as well as things such as retail pharmacy.
“So that strategic footprint plus our ability to innovate, I thought Jeff said it very well in his piece, it keeps the excitement here very high because healthcare is going to, in the next 10 years double in size, double in the expenditure and nobody knows how to even slow it down, let alone stop it and nobody can stop it.
“But we feel like we are at the right place, right time and with the right scale and the experience and confidence on how to create large value. So there is a lot of hard work, but it is a good place to be and we feel like we are at the right time. So thank you for your time and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
