CareFusion and Cerner enters into a new agreement

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CareFusion, a leading, global medical device company, and Cerner Corporation, a global provider of health care solutions and services,  announced an agreement to closely integrate their market-leading technologies in a solution to help hospitals and health care providers deliver better patient care through greater system interoperability.

This agreement allows for improved data communication between CareFusion Pyxis® medication dispensing, supply and anesthesiology systems, andCareAware®, Cerner’s integrated device connectivity architecture. This enhanced integration is expected to help reduce medication errors, improve clinician workflow and increase patient safety.

"This new relationship between Cerner and CareFusion is a significant step towards closing the current communication gap between healthcare devices and information technology that exists today," said William Spooner, chief information officer at Sharp Health Care, a seven-hospital system that is consistently ranked among the top integrated health care networks in the nation. "The health care environment is crowded with disparate devices and technologies that don’t talk to each other and require manual steps by clinicians, which leads to duplication in workflow, a higher risk of medical errors and noncompliance with regulatory guidelines." 

Cerner and CareFusion are extending their interoperability expertise and experience by offering enhanced medication and supply management capabilities to existing and new Cerner and Pyxis clients. As an extension of Cerner’s closed loop medication management strategy, Cerner will serve as a value added reseller of CareFusion Pyxis dispensing technologies in select accounts within Cerner’s core electronic health record (EHR) installed base.

Together, the two companies will develop a Pyxis health IT adaptor, which is expected to support the integration of EHR systems and clinical information in the medication management, pharmacy and perioperative processes. This agreement is the first step in a broader intent to integrate CareFusion devices with Cerner systems.

"As the automation in health care expands at a rapid pace, it is imperative that we achieve a deeper level of interoperability across all providers," said Neal Patterson, Cerner chairman, CEO and co-founder. "Cerner believes that connecting dispensing systems to the EHR is critical to patient safety, and we are excited to be able to offer this connectivity to our clients across a broader range of devices. CareFusion is the clear leader in this market, and being able to offer their technology enhances the options available from Cerner for our clients." 

"This strategic agreement combines both companies’ core competencies and directly aligns with our strategy to improve safety and the quality of care delivered to patients," said David Schlotterbeck, chairman and chief executive officer of CareFusion. "It’s a decision that makes perfect business sense and will enable hospitals to close the loop between the clinical and logistical medication and supply management processes through the convergence of medical devices and health care information technology."