2011 was a big year for Cerner. The North Kansas City-based health IT company, which employs more than 6,000 people in the region, brought in record profits and sales, according its year-end earnings report released today.
Total revenue last year topped $2 billion, up 19 percent from 2010.
“We are pleased with our strong results in Q-4 [the fourth quarter of 2011] and the full year,” says Chief Financial officer, Marc Naughton. "With all key metrics at or above our expected ranges, including record bookings, revenue earnings and cash flow."
Cerner's growth comes at a time when hospitals and health providers are increasingly going electronic.
The federal stimulus program has provided financial incentives for health facilities to switch from paper to electronic medical records. Down the road, places that aren’t digitized will face reimbursement penalties.
Electronic health systems are also becoming more important, says Cerner CEO Neal Patterson, as the entire health industry looks to better coordinate people’s health care and shift from "volume-based payment programs to programs based on measurements of quality and outcomes."
The company's medical software and IT services are now in more than 9,000 health facilities around the world.
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