Last month, MedCity News spoke to Cerner President Zane Burke at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives Fall CIO Forum in Phoenix.
During the interview, Mr. Burke discussed everything from tech spending to cybersecurity to its biggest competitor.
"We have invested more in research and development than anybody else in the industry," Mr. Burke told MedCity News. "I'm investing more in R&D than anybody else, period. I'm going to keep doing that because I think it's the right thing to do to make Cerner successful in the long term."
He added that much of the investment into research and development is in cybersecurity measures. Why invest there? Mr. Burke said he often describes healthcare as "the biggest house on the block. We've got the prettiest paintings and furniture, yet we don't have a fence or a dog. Not only are we the most desirable place to be, we're also the most vulnerable because we don't do the things we tell our kids to do, which is to lock the doors, don't let strangers in — start with some of the basic things first."
In fact, Mr. Burke stressed that the health IT industry needs more investment in research. "Think about our core competitor. They're coming out and saying, 'I'm going to double down on marketing.' Now is not the time," he said. "We're spending less as a percentage of revenue on marketing than at any time in the history of our company. We're spending more on R&D in absolute dollars and otherwise than we ever have."