Leading healthcare information technology (“HCIT”) solutions provider, Cerner Corp. ( CERN - Analyst Report ) recently reported that it launched its positive patient identification (“PPID”) system to enhance medical outcomes at Corniche Hospital in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”). The hospital is Cerner’s first customer in that country with a complete closed-loop medication administration system. Due to this system, drugs may be administered to the patient in congruence with established norms.

The PPID initiative uses bar code know-how with a hand-held instrument which reads from the wristband of the patient. It confirms data in the electronic health/medical record (“EHR/EMR”) of the patient operated by Cerner’s Millennium technology. This PPID program is in consonance with the benchmarks set by the Joint Commission International (“JCI”).

The closed loop medication system, to provide automated validation of drugs, has been launched in one nursing unit of the hospital. Corniche Hospital has been qualified for Stage 6 certification in the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model (“EMRAM”). Consequently, it was conferred with HIMSS 6 recognition at the EMRAM Awards Ceremony at the yearly HIMSS Mid East Conference and Leadership Summit held on May 20, at Abu Dhabi. The hospital is Cerner’s second customer, located in the Mid East, to achieve HIMSS Stage 6 qualification.

We believe long-term investors may consider Cerner, which serves a sizeable installed hospital base that requires composite clinically-focused applications complying with “meaningful use” requirements, reimbursement problems and complex coding issues. The company has long-standing, integrated and seamless solutions for both inpatient and ambulatory settings.

On the negative side, the federal Stimulus program will gradually wind down. Cerner faces stiff competition from established HCIT players, such as Athenahealth ( ATHN - Analyst Report ) , Allscripts-Misys ( MDRX - Analyst Report ) and Quality Systems ( QSII - Analyst Report ) and many others in a crowded field.