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Source: Cerner Corporation

Riyadh Valley Company, Cerner and Zamil Group Announce Joint Health Care Technology Venture in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riyadh Valley Company (RVC) of King Saud University, a Saudi government owned investment firm which aims to be the leader in knowledge-based investment and technology transfer in Saudi Arabia, announced today it has entered into partnership with Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq:CERN), a leading global supplier of health care technology, and Zamil Group, one of Saudi Arabia's leading business groups, to form Riyadh Valley HIS Company. This collaboration will offer health information systems and services (HIS) to its affiliated hospitals, other Ministry of Higher Education hospitals and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

"The health care sector continues to be a key component in the Kingdom's shift to a knowledge-based economy from an oil-based one. We see enhancing our country's health care services as a key component of this change and are proud to work with Cerner and Zamil Group to play an emerging role in how that care is delivered to the Saudi community," said His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Al Othman, president of King Saud University and chairman of the board of RVC. "Through this public-private sector partnership, our university company has the opportunity to positively impact the quality of life for all Saudis."

Riyadh Valley HIS Company's HIS offering will run on the Cerner Millennium® software architecture, the health care industry's most comprehensive, unified, contemporary information architecture. Hospitals in the Kingdom adopting this system will recognize benefits, including:

  • Improved access to patient information: The creation of an integrated electronic health record for each patient provides real-time access to vital health information, including updated lab results and radiology imagery.
  • Increased quality of patient care: Electronic order entry eliminates errors caused by illegible handwriting or improper transcription, while evidence-based alerts notify the physician of potential complications related to medication interactions or other situations.
  • Enhanced operational efficiency: On-time reporting enables hospitals to have greater control over their operations while increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

"This joint venture aligns Cerner with two well-established organizations that have proven track records of successful operations in Saudi Arabia," said Greg White, vice president and managing director, Cerner Middle East and Africa. "Together, the three companies will work to provide a new delivery model for health care technology in this country."

"We share with RVC and Cerner a commitment to contributing to the well-being of our communities and see this project as critical to the long-term success of health care in our country," said Dr. Abdulrahman Al Zamil, chairman of Zamil Group. "This partnership to provide HIS is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and offers hospitals the opportunity to transform their HIS cost centers into profit centers. My vision is to see Riyadh Valley HIS Company to become a major source of HIS technology provider in the Kingdom and the region."

About Cerner

Cerner is transforming health care by eliminating error, variance and waste for health care providers and consumers around the world. Cerner® solutions optimize processes for health care organizations ranging in size from single-doctor practices, to health systems, to entire countries, for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, employer health and wellness services industry and for the health care commerce system. These solutions are licensed by approximately 9,000 facilities around the world, including more than 2,600 hospitals; 3,500 physician practices covering more than 30,000 physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 800 home health facilities; and 1,600 retail pharmacies. The trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively, the "Marks") set forth herein are owned by Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and certain other countries throughout the world. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube .

About Zamil Group

Zamil Group Holding Company is a global investment company with diverse interests and capabilities. Across the continents we provide innovative, high quality and price competitive products and services as well as investment opportunities for investors, partners and stakeholders in the industrial, petrochemicals and services sectors.

About Riyadh Valley Company

Envisioned to help transforming Saudi Arabia's oil-based economy into a revolutionary knowledge-based economy, Riyadh Techno Valley is one of Saudi Arabia's mega initiatives to support the adoption of innovation culture, foster entrepreneurship, leverage the kingdom's research capabilities and mobilize, engage and oversight investments in knowledge-based sectors.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is important to note that the Company's performance, and actual results, financial condition or business could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The words "will offer", "will run", "will recognize", "will work" or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the possibility of product-related liabilities; potential claims for system errors and warranties; the possibility of interruption at our data centers or client support facilities; our proprietary technology may be subject to claims for infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights of others, or may be infringed or misappropriated by others; risks associated with our non-U.S. operations; risks associated with our recruitment and retention of key personnel; risks related to our dependence on third party suppliers; risks associated with the ongoing adverse financial market environment and uncertainty in global economic conditions; changing political, economic and regulatory influences; government regulation; significant competition and market changes; variations in our quarterly operating results; potential inconsistencies in our sales forecasts compared to actual sales; and, failure of the parties to achieve the intended benefits. Additional discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company's business is contained in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.