Neal Patterson

Neal Patterson was a visionary American businessman, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Cerner Corporation, a leading company in healthcare information technology. Born on December 10, 1949, in Anthony, Kansas, Patterson grew up on a family farm near Manchester, Oklahoma. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Oklahoma State University. In 1979, he co-founded Cerner with colleagues from Arthur Andersen, aiming to revolutionize healthcare through innovative IT solutions .

Under Patterson's leadership, Cerner became a global leader in electronic health records and healthcare IT systems, serving thousands of healthcare facilities worldwide. His strategic vision and commitment to innovation were instrumental in transforming the healthcare industry. Beyond his work at Cerner, Patterson was also a co-owner of Sporting Kansas City, a Major League Soccer team, reflecting his diverse interests and investments .

Among his notable quotes are:

“We don’t have a business model for health care in this country. We just have a business model for care.”

“Cerner’s focus over the last 20 years has been to provide healthcare, predominantly healthcare providers, with advanced clinical and management information systems.”

“Without a national ID and the ability to create true data that can be safely and securely sent between individuals, we are going to introduce new systemic risk back into the system.”

These statements reflect Patterson's deep commitment to improving healthcare systems through technology and his forward-thinking approach to industry challenges.