Cerner acquires Anasazi Software

In a late-day announcement Thursday, Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq:CERN, Kansas City, Mo.) said that it would acquire Anasazi Software (Phoenix, Ariz.), a developer of electronic health record (EHR) software and related technology for the behavioral health industry. Terms of the deal, which is projected to close in late November were not disclosed.

In exclusive comments to Behavioral Healthcare following the announcement, Anasazi Software CEO Michael Morris commented that “all of the impacts of the deal are going to be positive. We will be a business unit of Cerner, called Cerner Anasazi, we will keep our management team together, and the entirety of Anasazi operations will remain intact and continue to operate out of Phoenix.”

He added that “all of [Anasazi’s] relationships with customers will remain the same,” adding that the deal “has the potential to bring new innovations to the behavioral health market place much faster than before.” Within the new organization, Morris, who will take on the role of vice president and general manager, said that he will “play a strong role in planning Cerner’s entry into the behavioral health field.”  

When asked about the future, Morris stated that the combined organization offers “a direct communication pipe to a large primary care community” and “a means of developing common solutions to serve interoperability for both primary care and behavioral health not just incrementally, but nationwide.”  He added that the organization looks forward to “having a complete population health solution—not just an EHR, but a complete service and care model for population health.”

Morris, who has frequently spoken on behavioral health technology issues, said that he planned to retain “a leadership role” in SATVA, a trade group of computer vendors that serves in the behavioral health industry.

According to Cerner, the combination of Cerner Millennium^®, which includes in-patient behavioral health, and Anasazi's community behavioral health solutions will create “the most comprehensive offering in the market and “allow behavioral health providers access to data that can be utilized in an actionable, meaningful way that will aid in the transitions of care.”

"Improving the coordination of care across the health care continuum is critical to driving systemic improvement, bending the cost curve and delivering better outcomes," said Jeff Townsend, Cerner Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff. "Building on Cerner's strength in using predictive modeling to drive improvements in care, this acquisition will set a new bar for the use of technology to improve care outcomes in the behavioral health market place."

The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on Cerner's 2012 financial results.

Cerner 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.