Georgia Regents Medical Center signed a 14-year agreement today with Cerner Corp. to help create a more efficient and cost-effective health care delivery model by strategically leveraging technological innovation.

“As the state’s only public academic health center, we must contend with continued federal mandates to improve the quality of care while also lowering costs. These challenges have encouraged us to search for creative and innovative solutions that maximize efficiencies and control costs,” said Ricardo Azziz, CEO of Georgia Regents Health System. “This exciting agreement with Cerner will allow us to keep pace with change, manage costs, and accelerate our position as a leading health care provider.”

The new alignment, called the Jaguar Collaborative, encompasses the health system and some information technology services for the university and provides increased information technology performance, electronic health record usability, and improved client services. Cerner will provide remote hosting of the organization’s electronic medical record and add enhanced monitoring and system capabilities to provide increased security for the health system’s electronic health data.

“The Jaguar Collaborative will enable our organizations to advance and innovate right where care is being delivered every day,” said Joanne Burns, Cerner Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. “Using technology as a strategic lever, together we look forward to positively impacting health and wellness in Georgia.”

As part of the agreement, GRHealth’s information technology staff will become Cerner associates starting Sept. 29. The transition will connect these team members to additional training, resources, and professional development opportunities.

“We have a progressive vision for information technology,” said Charlie Enicks, Chief Information Officer at GRHealth. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with a company as preeminent as Cerner to spearhead an era of health care innovation in our community, state, and nation.”