Dive Brief:
- Cerner CEO Neal Patterson addressed shareholders and employees in a letter within a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, revealing his recent diagnosis of soft tissue cancer.
- He added the cancer is 'curable' and plans to start treatment immediately.
- Patterson will remain active in the business but curtail travel and meeting attendance. The company's stock fell close to 2% to $56.53 per share following his news.
Dive Insight:
Patterson co-founded Kansas City-based Cerner in 1979 and the company now employees more than 10,000 people in the area.
In his letter, Patterson said, "It's not often I'm forced to slow down, but the silver lining will be having some extra 'think' time to reflect on all the extraordinary opportunities we have in health IT. After years of studying healthcare systems around the world, this unique opportunity already has my gears turning."
Cerner was awarded a $4.3 billion DOD contract last year to upgrade the Military Health System's EHR system.