Cerner announces Millennium next steps

Cerner has used the HIMSS12 healthcare IT conference and show in Las Vegas to launch Millennium+, the next stage of development of its electronic health record software.

Key features of the next generation of Millennium include the integration of cloud-based services and mobile clinical applications, beginning with PowerChart+ Touch developed specifically for the iPad.

In a press announcement, Cerner says the next evolution of its electronic medical record product combines “the enterprise platform with the secure Cerner cloud.”

It says the availability of cloud services will mean that Millennium+ platform solutions are available “on demand, versus relying on major release schedules.”

It also says that Millennium+ provides “personalised, intuitive and relevant clinical workflows via the desktop, tablet and smartphone.”

In a blog post on the company’s blog, Jeff Townsend, Cerner chief of staff and executive vice-president, says: “Nearly everyone these days carries a device that allows you to download apps... track the weather, play games, check email and see your friend’s photos.

“Now, Cerner is extending the same experience to health care, with quick and easy access in the iPad. New innovations are available in a now world, not as part of a bundled package or major release.

“We understand this is a pretty dramatic change from the approach of today, and that this is a more complicated computing environment than Angry Birds.

“But we’re also betting that the more recent cycles of mandates, measures and regulatory requirements is only going to continue to accelerate as the industry is digitised, so the platform to innovate has to accelerate with it.”

In its press announcement, Cerner also says that Millennium+ is designed to “speed up workflows, reduce clicks and ensure Cerner solutions provide each user the information they need at the right point in the workflow in context of the person, condition and venue.”

“Cerner is going beyond foundational automation of the health record and creating a new experience; not just a repository to chart activity or place orders,” Townsend adds in a more formal comment.

“With this new combination of capabilities, Cerner is well positioned to accelerate innovation around the second order effects of a digitised industry.

“What you can do now with Millennium+ is much more than just being paperless, it moves the boundaries beyond a typical enterprise health record system.”