Cerner announced Oct. 18 it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AbleVets, an IT consulting and engineering firm focused on federal health clients.
Cerner anticipates the transaction of the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2019. With the acquisition, the EHR vendor aims to ramp up its technical expertise in designing and implementing IT solutions in the federal space.
AbleVets brings 350 professionals in areas including cybersecurity, analytics and agile engineering to Cerner. The organization was founded as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business and many of its staff are veterans. The company has previously provided support to Cerner's federal programs.
"Integrating the team into our business is a natural next step of our relationship," said Travis Dalton, president of Cerner government services, according to the news release. “We expect AbleVets' technical expertise and execution in solving complex problems will accelerate Cerner's success in providing integrated, seamless care for veterans, service members and their families."
Cerner is currently under contract with Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to develop and deploy new EHR systems across the agencies' care networks.