Cerner CEO Neal Patterson to undergo treatment for cancer

Neal Patterson, the chairman and chief executive of Cerner Corp., on Monday disclosed that he has been diagnosed with soft tissue cancer and plans to begin treatment immediately.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that was shared in a note to clients, shareholders and employees, Patterson wrote that his physician said the type of cancer he has is treatable and curable. He said there wasn’t evidence of cancer elsewhere in his body.

Patterson, a founder of the North Kansas City-based health care information technology company, said the firm’s current leadership structure is “well equipped” to run the day-to-day operation.

Cerner president Zane Burke increasingly has been the public face of Cerner in earnings calls with stock analysts and media interviews. Burke has chief responsibility for client relationships and, according to the company, “oversees the corporate direction and strategy for market-facing operations, including sales, revenue generation, marketing and segment-focused business units.”

Other top members of Cerner’s management team in shareholder communications are Marc Naughton, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Mike Nill, executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Jeff Townsend, executive vice president and chief of staff.

“I plan to stay involved in the business, but with less travel and fewer meetings,” Patterson said in the statement. “In reality it will not be a big change compared to how we run Cerner day-to-day already.”

No details were disclosed about his illness or treatment. The Cerner public relations team said it would provide no further comment about the disclosure.

“It’s not often I’m forced to slow down, but the silver lining will be having some extra ‘think’ time to reflect on all the extraordinary opportunities we have in health IT,” Patterson said. “After years of studying health care systems around the world, this unique opportunity already has my gears turning.”

Patterson co-founded Cerner in 1979 with Cliff Illig, who serves as vice chairman of the board, and Paul Gorup, who is retired from the company. The three former Arthur Andersen employees envisioned a company, named PGI & Associations until 1984, that would automate health records. The company went public in 1986, now has a market capitalization of more than $19 billion and is one of the area’s largest employers.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Cerner CEO Neal Patterson to undergo treatment for cancer."