Cerner opens new office in Saudi Arabia

Cerner has provided HIT solutions to clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 16 years. Cerner's Saudi Arabia office, which opened recently, is an exciting next step in the company's Middle East growth strategy. The Saudi Arabia branch of Cerner Middle East, Ltd., is located at Arch Tower, King Fahd Road, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This new office serves to strengthen Cerner's relationships with key clients in the region as well as enhance its solutions and implementations for the Saudi market.

Richard Berner, Cerner Middle East Vice President and Managing Director, said:

"It's an exciting time to be in healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is an innovative and rapidly growing market for advanced healthcare technology. Cerner's Saudi Arabia office will give us the opportunity to build on our success in the region through increased local support for our clients."

With operations in 21 countries, Cerner currently has six clients at 10 different facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre. The hospital chose Cerner as its HIT partner in May 2000 to implement multiple Cerner Millennium solutions, automating physician and nursing documentation as well as the emergency room, radiology, pharmacy, surgery and administrative operations.

"The Cerner Millennium system has added a significant value to hospital operations in terms of patient safety, staff productivity and managerial decision-making process," said Dr. Qasim Al Qasabi, King Faisal Specialist and Research Centre chief executive director. "This has served the hospital well as we continue to lead as a 'Center of Excellence in Health Care' and in the region."

The Cerner Millennium solutions implemented at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre provide a clear benefit to both patients and healthcare providers in the cycle of care delivery through electronic patient registration, order entry, scheduling, results reporting and viewing. Throughout the hospital, consultants, doctors and nurses are noting how much easier and quicker it is to order and view results, saving patients and clinicians valuable time. For example, official radiology reports are now available electronically within an hour, whereas turnaround time used to be more than a day.