Dive Brief:
- EHR giant Epic Systems is paying $46 million to acquire Mayo Clinic’s data center in Rochester, MN.
- The transaction involves an open-ended leaseback deal.
- The move is the latest collaboration between Verona, WI-based Epic and the Rochester-based hospital. Last January, Mayo chose Epic to replace its existing EHR and revenue cycle management system.
Dive Insight:
The announcement signals Mayo’s increasing reliance on Epic for technical and healthcare software support.
Under the terms of the deal, Epic will acquire the Mayo Clinic’s 62,000-square-foot data center and lease it back to the hospital for a minimum of four years — and potentially forever. The new EHR system is expected to roll out in 2017, replacing Mayo’s current trio of EHR systems with a single, integrated EHR.
Epic also is partnering with Mayo and IBM Watson Health to utilize the cognitive computing capabilities of IBM Watson’s supercomputer in EHRs, the Milwaukee Business Journal reports. The venture could improve efforts to match cancer patients with clinical trials, another Epic-Mayo endeavor.
Epic reportedly manages the health records of more than half of U.S. patients and 2.5% of patients worldwide.