After nearly two decades of collaboration to shape University of Missouri Health Care into a national leader in health information technology, the University of Missouri (MU) and Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN), a global leader in health care technology, today announced plans to extend their relationship through 2025.
“This extension of the MU-Cerner collaboration will help us achieve iconic status among health systems for health care information technology and outstanding patient care outcomes,” said MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. “It will benefit all Missourians and beyond as we expand medical research, speed health care innovations and improve population health locally, regionally and statewide. Through this collaboration, MU has been able to achieve early success in implementing health care technology solutions, and we are now able to move forward with new goals to improve patient care.”
In 2009, the parties formed the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation to deliver value through information technology and innovation. With this extension, the Tiger Institute will focus on key advancements in population health, research, cost-saving opportunities and becoming a key resource for health organizations around the world.
New Tiger Institute initiatives include:
- Redefining patient engagement through mobile health care
- Developing a comprehensive population health strategy and network to better position MU Health Care to lower costs while improving the health of Missourians and their care
- Facilitating the role of health information technology in academic medical center research
- Helping MU Health Care and other providers transition to value-based payment models
- Developing a Tiger Institute Value Creation Office to identify cost-saving opportunities
The team will establish the Tiger Institute Leadership Academy for industry peers who are interested in on-site visits and education. Last year, the Tiger Institute hosted visitors from around the globe, including physicians and medical executives from Australia, France, China and Intermountain Healthcare.
“From the start of our collaboration in 1996, we have worked to leverage the collective capabilities and resources of Cerner and MU to create a national model for excellent patient care, reduced health care costs, medical research and leadership in next-generation health sciences and technology sector jobs,” said UM System President Timothy Wolfe. “Through this relationship, we formed the Tiger Institute in 2009, which has been a remarkable success.”
The MU-Cerner collaboration has moved MU Health Care into the top 2 percent of health systems nationally ranked by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Since the formation of the Tiger Institute, MU Health has achieved multiple health technology successes:
- Reached HIMSS Stage 7, the highest level of electronic medical record adoption
- Named the first academic medical center and the ninth health system in the country to meet federal Stage 2 meaningful use standards for the adoption of medical information technology to improve patient care
- Designated a “Most Wired” hospital by the American Hospital Association each of the past four years
- Ranked ninth nationally among academic medical centers with the University HealthSystem Consortium Quality Leadership Award
- Recipient of the Missouri Quality Award from the Excellence in Missouri Foundation
- Awarded $13 million LIGHT2 grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), one of the largest grants ever acquired by MU Health Care
- Patient care tower expansion with 90 patient rooms, all including “smart room” technology to wirelessly integrate medical devices into the electronic medical record
“Information technology is a strategic enabler for the support and advancement of quality directives,” said Joanne Burns, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Cerner, and member of the Tiger Institute Board of Governors. “Together, Cerner and MU Health Care will capitalize on this momentum and continue to positively affect the way health care is delivered, with the ultimate goal of improving the health outcomes of Missourians.”
The Tiger Institute has produced a number of new innovations to transform the delivery of care. Projects range from enhancing the electronic medical record to unique innovations that can be marketed globally. Recent innovations include creating e-visit technology, integrating calculators into the EHR and developing a consumer facing mental health app. This year, the Tiger Institute launched OpenNotes, a function that gives patients access to their clinic notes through the MU Healthe patient portal.
“Cerner and MU Health Care are true partners in innovation,” said Neal Patterson, chairman and chief executive officer of Cerner. “Through our close alignment, Cerner and the university have implemented the latest advances in health care today. Together, we’ve seen the Tiger Institute emerge as a national leader in health information technology, and we look forward to a new decade of bigger and bolder innovations that have already made our relationship a model for the modernization of our nation’s health care system.”
