Cerner has filed a protest against rival Epic Systems winning a $62 million, seven-year contract to implement a new electronic health record (EHR) system at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System in Chicago, saying the bidding process unfairly favored Epic.
According to the Champaign News-Gazette, Cerner said Impact Advisors, the firm hired by the university to evaluate the IT bids, has worked with Epic on similar projects and may stand to benefit by recommending Epic. Impact Advisors countered by saying it’s an independent company and has worked with numerous companies, including Cerner.
Additionally, Cerner’s complaint to the Illinois Chief Procurement Office for Higher Education claimed its bid was $1.5 million lower than Epic’s and it was denied the chance to demonstrate its EHR product, an opportunity that was offered to Epic.
Cerner said about 70 percent of the system’s health records are already one of its products, with a smaller share being handled by an Epic EHR.
The university said its past experiences with Cerner products were part of the reason why it went with Epic.
"We have twice tried to deploy a particular Cerner ambulatory software component and twice had to back it out since it brought the entire Cerner system to a halt,” UI Health said.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.