Cerner Teams With Amazon to Help Consumers Improve Their Health and Wellness
Integration Empowers Consumers to Measure and Share Important Data With Health Care Teams
Sharp Healthcare First Health System to Implement Halo
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- , a global health care technology company, announced today a new collaboration with that allows consumers to easily connect vital health and well-being information with their broader health care teams. The Amazon Halo, a new service dedicated to helping customers improve health and wellness, can connect to Cerner’s technology where individuals can opt-in to share activity, sleep, body fat percentage and other important wellness data from the comfort of their home. Historically this type of data has been siloed or difficult to obtain. Wearable technology, such as the Amazon Halo, can help achieve greater interoperability across health care when integrated directly into a patient’s electronic health record (EHR). Longtime Cerner client Sharp HealthCare is the first health system to implement Amazon Halo in the health care setting.
In recent years, a growing number of consumers have become more empowered and engaged in their own health care journeys, in many cases seeking out opportunities to employ to support healthier decisions. Much of this shift has been driven by the . By introducing valuable data from Amazon Halo into the Cerner EHR and well-being offerings, consumers and care teams alike can now have a more accurate and timely view of an individual’s health.
“The health care industry is undergoing a digital revolution, where physicians are increasingly looking to leverage patient-generated health data to help keep them healthier and out of the doctor’s office,” said David Bradshaw, senior vice president of consumer and employer solutions, Cerner. “Our work with Amazon Halo highlights the importance of using artificial intelligence and other leading-edge technologies to accelerate health care innovation and improve health outcomes. Cerner is focused on continuing to lead a wave of breakthrough innovation, and this integration with Amazon Halo is a step toward this goal. We’re excited that our client, Sharp HealthCare, is the first health system to be able to take advantage of the Amazon Halo integration.”
Amazon Halo uses new innovations in computer vision to let members get a highly accurate measure of their body fat percentage, from the comfort and privacy of their own home. Participating clients can allow Amazon Halo members to opt-in to a more comprehensive view of their wellness data, including sleep and activity, shared directly to technology, hosted in the secure and resilient Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud. Through Cerner’s Consumer Well-being offers and related Workforce Health services, companies who purchase Amazon Halo Bands can offer their employees and health plan members this connectivity as part of their wellness programs or as part of a bring-your-own-device model.
In addition, patients can also share body fat percentage with their clinical care team by connecting their Cerner HealtheLifeSM application. This data can show progress on an individual’s goals, inform care team guidance and offer a more comprehensive view of activities that, when managed proactively, can positively influence a person’s overall health.
“As a leader in health care technology, Cerner shares our deep commitment to helping customers improve their individual health and wellness. We look forward to seeing the benefits Cerner Consumer Well-being clients can offer their customers with Amazon Halo for making healthy choices,” said Melissa Cha, vice president, Amazon Halo. “Additionally, Amazon Halo members will be able to share their body fat percentage—a better measure of overall health than just weight or BMI alone—with their care providers using the Cerner EHR, so care teams will have more relevant, useful information to consider in enabling better health outcomes.”
The first health system to implement the Amazon Halo integration is Cerner client Sharp HealthCare, a leading health care provider located in San Diego with 2,600 physicians across four acute care and three specialty hospitals. The Amazon Halo Band will initially be provided to a limited number of Sharp Health Plan members participating in wellness programs to aid in self-directed and coach-guided lifestyle behavior changes. Last year, adding EHR and revenue cycle support to its more than 200 primary care and specialty clinics across its outpatient facilities and independent physician practice groups. In further alignment as the relationship progresses, Sharp HealthCare patients who receive the band will eventually have the option to link their Sharp and Halo accounts to the Cerner EHR to share their body fat percentage with the clinical care team.
“Technology is revolutionizing the way we care for patients and how consumers care for themselves, and, at Sharp, we strive to embrace innovative ways to leverage leading technology to engage consumers in managing their health,” said Michael Reagin, chief information and innovation officer, Sharp HealthCare. “With more relevant information at their fingertips, our populations will be empowered to make more informed decisions about the health and well-being of themselves and the communities they serve. We are pleased to work with Cerner and Amazon Halo to offer our members, patients and clinicians an opportunity to have a more connected health record.”
This collaboration follows the a year ago to accelerate health care innovation, enhance clinical experiences, increase efficiencies, lower operational burdens for health care and accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning to advance better patient health outcomes. Today’s announcement provides consumers and their health care teams with previously hard to obtain health metrics that help consumers focus more on making personalized and actionable behavior changes to help lead to longer-term improved health.
The Amazon Halo is available in the U.S. for early access, to request early access.
About Cerner
Cerner’s health technologies connect people and information systems in thousands of contracted provider facilities worldwide dedicated to creating smarter and better care for individuals and communities. Recognized globally for innovation, Cerner assists clinicians in making care decisions and assists organizations in managing the health of their populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help manage day-to-day revenue functions, as well as a wide range of services to support clinical, financial and operational needs, focused on people. For more information, visit , or connect on , , , or . Nasdaq: CERN. Health care is too important to stay the same.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit and follow @AmazonNews.
About Sharp HealthCare
, San Diego's most comprehensive health care delivery system, is recognized for clinical excellence in cardiac, cancer, multi-organ transplantation, orthopedics, rehabilitation, behavioral health, women's health, home health and hospice services. Sharp HealthCare has been widely acclaimed for its commitment to transform the health care experience for patients, physicians and staff through an organization-wide performance improvement initiative called The Sharp Experience. The Sharp HealthCare system includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, three affiliated medical groups, a health plan, and numerous outpatient facilities and programs. To learn more about Sharp, visit .
About Sharp Health Plan
is a locally based, not-for-profit health plan that has been serving San Diegans for over 25 years. With over 144,000 members, Sharp Health Plan offers San Diegans access to high-quality and affordable health insurance through their individual and family plans, commercial group plans, and Medicare plans. They continue to be recognized nationally and locally for their award-winning healthcare for San Diegans of all ages. Visit to learn more.
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