Dive Brief:
- The Cleveland Clinic and Dell have come together to offer providers an EMR consulting, installation, configuration and hosting service.
- The services and software are based on the Cleveland Clinic's version of an EMR developed by Epic Systems.
- Under the agreement, an Epic EMR can be installed and run on computers at the client site, or hosted remotely by Dell. The Cleveland Clinic will handle EMR installations for new customers and Dell will provide the technology infrastructure, including remote hosting.
Dive Insight:
This deal caught me by surprise. Epic doesn't exactly have a reputation for playing nicely with the other kids in the sandbox. But even a powerhouse like Epic needs new customers to keep its growth engine humming, and Dell is a natural partner for reaching medium to small practices. Assuming Cleveland Clinic's version of Epic works well, this could be a breakthrough deal enabling Epic to get into smaller medical offices.