by Dan Margolies, Heartland Health Monitor
Kansas City-based Cerner Corp. on Wednesday landed what’s thought to be one of the biggest health information technology contracts ever awarded.
The Washington Post reported that the 10-year contract for the U.S. Defense Department’s Military Health System was worth $4.3 billion. Bloomberg Business said the contract was valued at as much as $9 billion through 2033.
Cerner beat out archrival Epic Systems for the contract, which calls for Cerner and its partners to upgrade health records for 9.5 million people at more than 50 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in the United States and abroad.
A spokeswoman for Cerner, Angela Vogen, said in an email that it would be “inappropriate” for the company to discuss specifics of the contract. She said that the Cerner team “stands ready to lean forward with the DoD to implement a world-class electronic health records system.”
Cerner teamed with Leidos, Accenture Federal Services and Intermountain Healthcare on the bid. The Cerner team was one of six that originally submitted proposals. Earlier this year, the Defense Department narrowed the list to three.
Cerner has about 16,000 employees worldwide and is the fastest-growing company in Kansas City. It has its Cerner Continuous Campus in Kansas City, Kan., near I-70 and I-435. The company posted sales of $3.4 billion last year.
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