Cook County Achieves Success with Cerner, Increases Medication Safety; Alignment with Healthcare IT Leader Brings Innovation to One of the Nation's Largest Public Health Systems

Business Wire, June 29, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. & CHICAGO -- As the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) encourages smarter medication management, the Cook County Bureau of Health Services announces today another success with Cerner Corp. in its pursuit of higher standards in medication delivery. The pharmacy of the 600-bed Oak Forest Hospital is now fully automated, and in the coming months, Cook County's flagship health center -- the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital -- will implement Cerner's pharmacy solutions to deliver increased safety at the bedside.

"The vision Cook County demonstrates is a model for all large-scale health systems in this country," said Trace Devanny, Cerner president. "Cook County earns its reputation as a leader in innovation as it brings technology to the people who visit its hospitals, clinics and extended-care centers more than a million times every year."

Cerner's pharmacy solution provides the tools to help prevent adverse drug events, minimize transcription errors, streamline communications and reduce pharmacy costs. The technology combines clinical, demographic and financial information to improve outcomes while assisting in the delivery of safe care. "At Oak Forest Hospital, several hundred physicians are entering 100 percent of the medication orders, as well as radiology, laboratory, dietary and other orders online. The level of physician acceptance and enthusiasm has been overwhelmingly positive," said Michael Sommers, Cook County's chief information officer.

Cook County partnered with Cerner in 2001 to electronically integrate the Cook County Bureau of Health, its four hospitals and 30 community health centers. Cook County's far-reaching plan aims to integrate electronic personal health information with up-to-date medical research and treatment options at the health system's provider facilities.

"For us, the choice to bring technology to all levels of our hospitals and clinics was simple," said Sommers. "By partnering with Cerner, we have great flexibility to customize our individual hospitals for their specific needs, though never losing site of the end goal, one unified health system with a constant flow of secure, real-time information."

By selecting Cerner, Cook County, one of the nation's largest public health systems, aligned itself with the nation's leading provider of healthcare IT. Cerner has more than 3,900 Cerner Millennium(R) solutions live with nearly 300 clients at 780 facilities around the world.

With the modernization of its medication distribution processes, Cook County takes another step toward full automation that when complete, will offer all of those in its care computerized physician order entries, comprehensive electronic medical records and histories, laboratory and imaging results, all on a computer screen rather than in cumbersome paper files and records. Already, nearly 95 percent of those entering Cook County's emergency rooms have an electronic medical history in the system, accessible to clinicians at the point of care, allowing for the most up-to-date, relevant information to be placed in the correct hands.

About Cook County Bureau of Health Services

Created to be an innovative, cost-efficient system of integrated healthcare, the Bureau of Health Services is the second largest division of Cook County Government and one of the largest public health systems in the country. Serving a population of more than five million people in sprawling area poses logistical challenges to ensuring access to all those in need of services. As part of its strategic plan, the Bureau focuses on the dual strategy of bringing health care into vulnerable communities by opening a network of neighborhood health centers throughout the city and suburbs with its hospitals at the core, as the hub of the system's inpatient services.

About Cerner

Cerner Corp. is taking the paper chart out of healthcare, eliminating error, variance and waste in the care process. With more than 1,500 clients worldwide, Cerner is the leading supplier of healthcare information technology. The following are trademarks of Cerner: Cerner, Cerner Millennium, Cerner's logo, Nasdaq: CERN, www.cerner.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is important to note that the Company's performance, and actual results, financial condition or business could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The words "will" and "plan" or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: changes in the healthcare industry, significant competition, the Company's proprietary technology may be subjected to infringement claims or may be infringed upon, government regulations, the possibility of product-related liabilities, possible errors or failures in the performance of the Company's software, the recruitment and retention of key personnel, risks related to third party suppliers, and, failure of the parties to achieve the intended benefits. Additional discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company's business is contained in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.