Cerner finds a treasure in data mining - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The North Kansas City-based healtuh care informationtechnology company, known mostly for the health-recored software sold to hospitals and clinics, is leveraginvg the billions of anonymous patient records it has at its disposal as marketable information to pharmaceutical companies and researchers. Cernedr said the data operation is a big reason revenue for its LifeSciences Group has increasedd by roughly 20 percent during each of the past five Mark Hoffman, the company’s life sciences solutionss vice president, predicted that annual growt will be greater still in the future.
“Thixs is just the beginning for us in thelife sciences,” he Included in Cerner’s data warehouse are 1.2 billion lab It also has smaller numbers of medicatiojn orders and other data. The compangy collects the informationthrough data-sharing agreements with roughly 125 of its softwarer clients. By some estimates, it can take as long as 17 yearesand $1.2 billion to develop a singls drug. Cerner’s data-mining capabilities can quicken that process and save monehy for drug companies by helping the companies establis h a study protocol that maximizes the number of eligible candidatesz fora trial.
“We believe that can actually eventually reduce the cost of drug Hoffman said. Cerner would not name its pharmaceutical customers. Pharmaceutical companies and clinical researcher s pay for Cerner data forothet reasons, said Scott Weir, director of the ’w Office of Therapeutics Discovery and Development. He said Cerner’ss data-mining capability can point scientists to potential new uses forexistinh drugs. For instance, Weir said, Cerner’s database might suggest that a drug used to treatr cardiovascular disease could be helpful in treating cancer Researchers then could run a clinicap trial to testthe idea.
The data is useful to drug companiese for much thesame reason, Weir said, including helpinv them identify and correctt side effects from drugs. The KU Cancetr Center has used Cerner’s data-mining capabilities for several projects. “Theu uncover information we wouldnever discover,” Weir said. “It’s invaluable.” He said Cerner stands to benefit financially, as well, from collaborations with researchersw that can lead to intellectual propert y that produces licensing feesand royalties. Cerner also can work with researchers suchas Dr. Stephen Spielberg, director of the Center for Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Innovationat . Spielberg seekz a $3.
9 million grant from the for a studh of how the center can bette capture data in pediatric cancerd studies usingCerner software. “u think we have a very special opportunity to demonstrate how these kinds of application s really can do what we wantto do,” Spielberg said, “whicbh is to improve the lives of our patients.” Cerner President Tracse Devanny said in a statement that although the LifeScience Group is a “minor contributor to our bottokm line,” the company views it as a “keyt component of our long-term global growth Cerner is well positioned to make that a said Joe Brisson, owner of , a Lenexa-basex health information technology consulting firm.
Brisson has workes with the onits health-information technology initiatives and said he doesn’rt see Cerner’s competitors grasping the moneymaking potentialp of health data. “Some of thesd folks may be missing this he said.