Analysts: Cerner Corp. a better fit than Epic for big DoD contract

Cerner Corp.’s reputation for greater interoperability, more mainstream corporate culture and experience of its bid partners ultimately proved to be key factors that likely helped the No. 2 EHR vendor beat out archrival Epic Systems Corp. for a coveted $4.3 billion contract to modernize the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) EHR system.

In something of a surprise, the partnership of Cerner Corp. and systems integrators Leidos, Inc. and Accenture Federal Services squeezed out finalists Epic and its partner IBM, as well as a team made up of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., Computer Sciences Corp., and HP.

The potential 10-year contract — the deal includes a two-year initial period, two three-year extensions and a two-year award term — for the DoD Healthcare Management System Modernization project would eventually be worth more than $9 billion.

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