Cerner Acquires Remaining 50 Percent Equity Interest in Health Network Ventures; Will Take Related Non-Recurring Charge in Second Quarter.

Business Editors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2000

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN), the world's leading clinical healthcare information technology company, today announced its cash purchase of the remaining outstanding shares of Health Network Ventures, Inc. (HNV).

Cerner became a 50 percent shareholder in HNV in June 1997 and has now acquired all shares it did not previously own.

"HNV's original focus was to provide technology for healthcare organizations that enabled private intranets for their health systems," said Trace Devanny, Cerner's President. "During the past twelve months the HNV business model has evolved to focus on physician connectivity and electronic claims transaction processing. These activities are duplicative of services provided by CareInsite (NASDAQ:CARI), a strategic partner of Cerner in which Cerner owns an 18.6 percent interest currently valued at approximately $250 million. CareInsite is developing an Internet-based healthcare electronic commerce network for interactive use by physicians, payers, suppliers and patients. Cerner intends to leverage the rich content, connectivity, transaction and service capabilities of CareInsite to connect local health providers and consumers to the components of CareInsite's broader network, eliminating the need to separately maintain these capabilities through HNV."

"Cerner will continue to support HNV's clients who utilize HNV's connectivity technology and will refocus HNV's resources to support IQHealth(TM), Cerner's recently announced eHealth initiative," Devanny continued. "However, Cerner will not continue the portion of the business focused on individual physician practice connectivity and claims transaction processing that is redundant to our CareInsite relationship. As a result of this decision, Cerner will record a non-recurring charge in the second quarter of 2000 in the amount of $6.7 million, related to an impairment of goodwill associated with the HNV purchase."

Devanny added: "As we noted in our previous comments about IQHealth, we will be focused on delivering content, services and personal health management solutions that enable provider organizations to create a locally branded Internet health exchange for their community, with all claims and eligibility transactions handled by CareInsite. IQHealth's recently announced initiative to improve health status through connecting an entire community of consumers and healthcare providers in Winona, Minnesota, showcases the power this strategy brings to healthcare."

"Cerner will release its second quarter results on Wednesday, July 19th, after the market close. We continue to remain comfortable with analyst estimates for the 2000 year that are at the higher end of the $0.40 to $0.45 per share guidance previously provided by the Company, excluding the non-recurring charges," Devanny concluded.

Cerner Corporation (www.cerner.com) is the leading supplier of clinical and management information and knowledge systems to more than 1,000 healthcare organizations worldwide. Cerner's mission is to connect the appropriate persons, knowledge, and resources at the appropriate time and location to achieve the optimal health outcome. Cerner's vision of proactive healthcare management drives innovation today, while creating a foundation for tomorrow's healthy populations. With HNA Millennium, Cerner has developed a comprehensive suite of solutions that promote personal and community health management by providing the link between individuals and the care process. HNA Millennium applications work on a cohesive platform that is open, intelligent and scalable. This allows for communication, access, and data to be shared throughout the healthcare system.

This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is important to note that the Company's performance financial condition or business could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The words "should," "will be," "intended," "continue," "believe," "may," "expect," "hope," "anticipate," "goal," "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: variations in the Company's quarterly operating results, volatility of the Company's stock price, market risk of investments, changes in the healthcare industry, significant competition, the Company's proprietary technology may be subjected to infringement claims or may be infringed upon, regulation of the Company's software by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other government regulation, the possibility of product-related liabilities, possible failures or defects in the performance of the Company's software, the possibility that the Company's anti-takeover defenses could delay or prevent an acquisition of the Company, and uncertainties related to the Year 2000. Additional discussion of these and other factors affecting the company's business is contained in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.