Several big announcements were made at the Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City this week – with the biggest being the unveiling of a next-generation technology, code-named Project Apollo, that Cerner says will offer powerful new cognitive computing resources to its healthcare clients.

The technology, still in development, is built on AWS infrastructure, and Cerner says the cloud-based automation platform will enable faster innovations by removing manual steps that cast roadblocks for new advancements.

The company will be developing new algorithms for the platform in the months ahead, focused on new approaches to care delivery and user experience

At the conference, Cerner also announced that Geisinger has signed a 10-year deal to expand its use of the HealtheIntent pop health platform, and will make broader use of it across the enterprise as its preferred data and analytics platform.

The health system will also work with Cerner to create an innovation team to seek out and implement new machine learning technologies.

THE LARGER TREND
In other AI news, Cerner also announced this week that it will offer healthcare clients a new opioid toolkit that uses predictive analytics to look beyond prescribing history flag patients who may be at risk of opioid abuse.

The company also announced a forthcoming initiative it's calling Cerner Seamless Interoperability, designed to advance data exchange and enhance usability. It says the technology derives from its "collaborative work in the federal space," presumably its recent work with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

ON THE RECORD
"Healthcare will change more in the next five years than it has in the past 30," said Cerner CEO Brent Shafer during the keynote address at CHC. "As we have for the past four decades, Cerner’s technology and collaborative programs, along with the most respected providers, will lead a wave of disruptive innovation focused on making healthcare better."