Sharp HealthCare, a leading health care provider in San Diego, has expanded its longstanding relationship with Cerner with the goal to enhance care delivery throughout its regional health system. Additional solutions and services will help further connect data across the health system to inform treatment decisions and care, improving the patient experience. It will also help Sharp stay up to date on the latest in health IT, with Cerner’s latest solutions and services available for clinicians as they provide care.
“Sharp is making a significant investment in its well-established collaboration with Cerner, which began in 1995, and extending it for another eight years,” said Dan Gross, executive vice president, Hospital Operations, Sharp HealthCare. “Cerner and Sharp look to further align to support improved quality of care, patient safety, continued growth and expanded reach throughout the San Diego community to help support the well-being of the people it serves.”
Sharp has expanded the relationship with Cerner through access to additional solutions and services to support a connected health system and help clinicians improve patient health outcomes. As part of the expanded relationship, Sharp’s independent physician association, Sharp Community Medical Group, will work with Cerner to improve the overall health of members of the community with a population health management strategy and solutions. Sharp’s approach will be powered by Cerner HealtheIntentSM, the big data and insights platform for population health management that analyzes medical data and supports clinicians in achieving actionable insights to help engage people beyond the hospital setting and manage health outcomes.
The network of primary care physicians and specialists will be supported by Cerner’s HealtheEDWSM, their data warehouse solution, and HealtheCareSM, their community care management solution that helps prioritize and assign patients to care managers for more efficient care. This type of population health management approach supports health systems with the shift to a value-based care model, providing proactive and quality care to improve the well-being of patients and keep them healthy.
“This next phase in our collaboration will bring our organizations closer to help deliver a high-quality and patient-centered care experience to the people of the San Diego area,” said Joanne Burns, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Cerner. “Sharp has taken another important step in connecting patient information across its health system and improving care delivery as it continues to grow and touch the lives of more individuals in their community.”
Sharp will extend Cerner’s electronic health record and revenue cycle solutions beyond its hospitals to also support its more than 200 primary care and specialty physicians across its outpatient facilities and independent physician practice group. This will help bring clinicians a single view of a patient’s record by connecting clinical and financial information across the health system and reinforce financial operations. In addition, solutions and services designed to help them make the billing process smooth will support an improved patient experience.
As part of the new agreement, Cerner associates will be part of a team in San Diego working side-by-side with IT staff and clinicians through this process to help drive new strategy and improved health outcomes across the organization.
