KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Tiger Institute and the University of Missouri Health Care achieved another milestone in electronic medical record adoption with the HIMSS Stage 7 award. This puts MU Health Care in the top 1.8% of hospitals in the nation in the use of technology to deliver safe, quality patient care. In 2009, the University of Missouri and Cerner (CERN) created the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation as a unique, groundbreaking partnership designed to transform the health and care of Missourians. Since its founding three years ago, the Tiger Institute has led MUHC from HIMSS EMRAM Stage 3 to Stage 7 across five facilities.

"Achieving the highest level of electronic medical record adoption is not only an honor, but a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our clinicians and information technology staff," said Joanne Burns, chief information officer at MU Health Care. "The Tiger Institute's ultimate goal has always been to use health information technology to enhance the quality and safety of the care we provide. MU Health Care shares Cerner's belief that a solid technology infrastructure is the foundation for improving the health and care of patients and the community."

Working side-by-side, MU Health Care and the Tiger Institute are implementing solutions at an unprecedented rate, exceeding clinical and operational expectations and fostering clinical innovation. Since the founding of the partnership, MU Health Care has earned the following awards:

"The Tiger Institute is one of Cerner's core strategies that supports our belief that health care is too important to stay the same. It is a partnership between two Missouri organizations who are committed to seeing the latest technological innovations put into practice for the betterment of the health of our communities," said Jeff Townsend, Cerner executive vice president and chief of staff. "Our impatience for change and passion to make a difference make this a personal mission for our associates."

With nearly three years of collaboration, the Tiger Institute is creating innovative health care delivery systems, connecting care providers throughout Missouri and engaging individuals in personal wellness. While the HIMSS Stage 7 award is a significant achievement, it's really just the starting point of the journey. Having reached the highest level of electronic medical record adoption, MU Health Care and Tiger Institute have laid the foundation for further innovation.

Through the unique partnership of the Tiger Institute, Cerner and MU Health Care look forward to the trial and testing of new innovations, reaching a greater level of patient care coordination and speeding the innovation and adoption processes. On the horizon in 2013, Tiger Institute will use a $13.3 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement a project called "Leveraging Information Technology to Guide High Tech, High Touch Care" or LIGHT2. During its 3-year execution, LIGHT2 is expected to enable disruptive innovation required to create a new primary care patient engagement model while lowering the cost of care.

About Cerner

Cerner is contributing to the systemic change of health and care delivery. For more than 30 years Cerner has been executing its vision to make health care safer and more efficient. We started with the foundation of digitizing paper processes and now offer the most comprehensive array of information software, professional services, medical device integration, remote hosting and employer health and wellness services. Cerner systems are used by everyone from individual consumers, to single-doctor practices, hospitals, employers and entire countries. Taking what we've learned over more than three decades, Cerner is building on the knowledge that is in the system to support evidence-based clinical decisions, prevent medical errors and empower patients in their care.

Cerner(R) solutions are licensed by approximately 9,300 facilities around the world, including more than 2,650 hospitals; 3,750 physician practices; 40,000 physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 800 home health facilities; 40 employer sites and 1,600 retail pharmacies.

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Cerner, Tiger Institute for Health Innovation Enable University of Missouri Health Care to Achieve HIMSS Stage 7