Florida-based AdventHealth plans to replace its Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system with rival Epic's.
One of the largest faith-based health systems in the country, AdventHealth operates 50 hospital campuses across a dozen states. The health system employs more than 80,000 people who serve more than 5 million patients annually and reports nearly $20 billion in annual revenue.
The health system first signed a deal with Cerner in 2002 when it was known as Adventist Health System.
AdventHealth will begin the transition in March and will eventually roll Epic's EHR out to 1,200 care sites. The work is expected to be completed in about three years, the health system said.
In a press release issued Tuesday, AdventHealth said it plans to install a single, integrated Epic EHR and revenue cycle management system across all of its acute care, physician practice, ambulatory, urgent care, home health and hospice facilities.
Epic’s Community Connect program will also allow AdventHealth to extend its EHR system to affiliated providers as part of the integrated platform, according to AdventHealth.
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“Our journey to become a consumer-focused clinical company requires a fully connected network throughout our entire enterprise,” Terry Shaw, president and CEO for AdventHealth, said in a statement. “Connecting our network with a robust, integrated health record platform will give our caregivers access to the clinical information they need at the point of care and ultimately advance our consumer promises through a more seamless experience for those we serve.”
In an emailed statement, Cerner confirmed the changeover. "AdventHealth has made the business decision to transition over the next few years management of its EHR and revenue cycle management system to another supplier. The shift is expected to take up to five years and Cerner is committed to working closely with AdventHealth to continue delivering superior health care technology solutions throughout the transition," the company said.
Anonymous Reddit posters predicted the change months ago, saying that the health system was frustrated with integration issues with Cerner’s ambulatory solution and revenue cycle functionalities. HIStalk first reported the Reddit posts regarding Cerner and AdventHealth.
One Reddit user said AdventHealth staff felt the health system was on the "back burner" since Cerner signed massive projects with the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
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It's unclear what the loss of a big EHR client will mean for health IT company Cerner's annual revenue or earnings.
The company continues efforts to turn its financial picture around and improve its operating performance.
Almost a year ago, activist investor Starboard Value stepped in, and Cerner reached a settlement with the hedge fund to add new directors to its board and buy back more of its shares. Cerner also agreed to take steps to improve operations and committed to hitting certain operating targets.
The new agreement between Cerner and Starboard Value, which has a 1.2% stake in the company, was seen as welcome news by many financial analysts as a plan to increase the company's profitability.
Cerner's full-year 2019 bookings were down 11% compared to 2018 bookings, from $6.72 billion to $5.99 billion. Company executives said during their full-year and fourth-quarter earnings call that the decline in bookings was primarily driven by the company being more selective in the types of contracts it pursues, which led to fewer large, long-term outsourcing contracts.