Nearly six months since the deal was first announced – and only 14 years, almost to the day, since analysts first mused about the concept of an Oracle-Cerner marriage – the two companies announced the closing of their $28.3 billion mega merger on June 8.

Now, after lots of prognostication and punditry about how the acquisition might play out, it's time for the rubber to hit the road as the two technology giants plan next steps.

Larry Ellison, Oracle's cofounder, chairman and CTO, will offer his perspective during a virtual live event titled "The Future of Healthcare," scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. He'll be joined by other Oracle execs, health system chief information officers and world leaders. Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair is on the roster of speakers.

Meanwhile, in a blog posted to both companies' websites, Mike Sicilia, executive vice president at Oracle Industries, offered some early thoughts about how the world's third-biggest software company plans to build off of Cerner's technologies.

"Combining Cerner’s clinical capabilities with Oracle’s enterprise platform, analytics and automation expertise will change health and wellness in a way that simply hasn’t been possible before," said Sicilia. "We’ll provide secure and reliable solutions that deliver health insights and experiences to dramatically change how health is managed by patients, providers and payers."

He emphasized the importance of human-centered design principles, with cloud-based tools that can help reduce administrative burden and alleviate clinician burnout.

He prioritized interoperability, committing to "open APIs to ensure any authorized user can consume health data and insights."

He pledged an "unprecedented level of investment and focus" on cybersecurity, and noted that Oracle's long experience managing data and risk, including for "24 of the world’s 28 systemically important financial institutions" meant it understands the security stakes.

He promised improved efficiency for healthcare customers by using Oracle’s Fusion app suite to bridge "the bedside and the back-office, enhancing employee experience (better retention, less administration), streamlining the supply chain (reduced shrinkage, better inventory management), and giving the executive a better understanding of the issues impacting their business (greater predictability and cost control)."

Sicilia assured healthcare customers that Oracle was prepared to "meet the moment" for a pandemic-stressed health system ready for change, and would be focused on innovation and investment to "transform these systems of record into systems of intelligence."

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
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