Swedish-based Capio Healthcare, which runs private hospitals and diagnostic services in eight European countries has chosen Cerner Corporation as its strategic IT partner for a hospital automation project in the UK.

The first phase of the project will implement a foundation for electronic medical records and patient access systems across Capio’s 22 hospitals, which are sited across England from Yorkshire to Cornwall. Cerner business solutions to improve administrative and business functions will be installed and Capio will also have an option to extend the suite of business and clinical solutions to their other hospitals throughout Europe.

Cerner says the partnership is its first with a private healthcare organisation in the UK, though the firm works with the NHS and is a prominent contender for some of the large contracts to be awarded by the National Programme for IT in the NHS.

With consortium partners, SchlumbergerSema, Serco and TATA Consultancy Services, Cerner was on the longlist of suppliers chosen to stay in the running for local service provider (LSP) and national application service provider (NASP) contracts. The firm was also shortlisted, again with SchlumbergerSema, for the national e-bookings contract.

Dr Phil Collins, Cerner’s UK marketing and solutions director, commented, “As we continue to expand our presence in the UK, it is particularly rewarding for us to work with such a visionary heathcare organisation. Being selected by a private organisation such as Capio is a true testament to Cerner’s quality, scalable solutions.

Capio CEO, Steffan Carlson, said of Cerner, “Not only are their solutions scalable to accommodate our multi-site healthcare organisation across many country borders, but they are our vision for healthcare and will be an ideal strategic partner for many years to come.”