KANSAS CITY, Mo. and DUBLIN, Ireland, Jan. 8, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner (Nasdaq:CERN), a global innovator in electronic health record (EHR) and research technology, and ICON plc, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, have announced an agreement that will provide pharmaceutical and device sponsors with late phase research technology to streamline the collection of information related to the safety, effectiveness and value of their medical products.
As health care models continue to evolve, late phase research studies play a key role by providing additional assurance of product safety, comparative effectiveness, awareness of potential expanded indications for use and an understanding of the impact on patient outcomes and quality of life.
ICON selected Cerner's Discovere™ Late Phase solution as its system of choice for its late phase projects after an extensive evaluation process. "Discovere Late Phase is a highly scalable and flexible platform that is able to support late phase study management and provides sponsors with the ability to capture research data across multiple research sites," said Elizabeth Thiele, President of ICON's Late Phase & Outcomes Research division. "Cerner's Web-based research solution was built to accommodate the diversity of late phase studies, an improvement over other technologies that may have been retro-fitted from cumbersome legacy systems."
Discovere Late Phase reduces the time required to start late phase studies, provides sites with an easy-to-use system for compiling data and expedites the reporting of valuable data back to sponsors and regulators. The solution can also integrate into the EHR workflow giving site researchers the ability to electronically transcribe study-relevant data from the EHR directly into the online study forms. Additionally, the system supports the capture of participant surveys and patient-reported outcomes through its integrated electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) capabilities.
"Combining ICON's expertise in study management with Cerner's late phase technology will greatly benefit study sponsors," said Mark Hoffman, PhD, Vice President of Cerner Research. "We look forward to ongoing collaboration with ICON focused on improving research and minimizing barriers to research participation."
About Cerner
Cerner is contributing to the systemic change of health and care delivery. For more than 30 years Cerner has been executing its vision to make health care safer and more efficient. We started with the foundation of digitizing paper processes and now offer the most comprehensive array of information software, professional services, medical device integration, remote hosting and employer health and wellness services. Cerner systems are used by everyone from individual consumers, to single-doctor practices, hospitals, employers and entire countries. Taking what we've learned over more than three decades, Cerner is building on the knowledge that is in the system to support evidence-based clinical decisions, prevent medical errors and empower patients in their care.
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.
Certain trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively, the "Marks") set forth herein are owned by Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and certain other countries throughout the world. All other non-Cerner Marks are the property of their respective owners. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
About ICON plc
ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. ICON currently has approximately 9,300 employees, operating from 82 locations in 40 countries.