Medical technology company Cerner is to expand its research and development hub in Dublin, creating 50 new jobs as a result.

IDA Ireland is grant-aiding the expansion and the new positions will be the area of improving data intelligence and population health management for Cerner’s European clients.

The new roles include software engineers, software architects, designers and data visualisation developers, with different levels of knowledge and experience.

R&D activity will focus initially on developing predictive algorithms to run on Cerner’s population health intelligence platform, HealtheIntent. The purpose is, says the company, to “enable a shift from reactive care to proactive health, supporting healthcare professionals to take appropriate preventative actions that can keep patients out of hospitals, reduce morbidity, and encourage citizens to take ownership over the management of their health”.

Ireland general manager Matthew Pickett said: “Cerner have had a permanent presence in Ireland since 2007, supporting our global clients in the transformation of health and care services and the improvement of their populations’ wellbeing.  When seeking a European location in which to further build upon Cerner’s rapidly growing capabilities in population health management, the expansion of our existing Dublin team was a natural step.

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“Projects resulting from this new investment, supported by IDA Ireland, will enable the delivery of smarter, better care for citizens and healthier populations across the globe.”

Cerner works with the HSE in Ireland, and is implementing its ‘Millennium EHR’ platform at 19 maternity sites here as part of the Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System project. “This will help the HSE to provide every mother and child with world-class standards of health and care through a single electronic health record platform with accurate, accessible and secure data,” according to a Cerner statement.

It is also working on a project to connect 43 HSE-funded laboratories in Ireland and link them to the clinical community with a single national electronic laboratory record. The objective is to provide greater access to patients’ laboratory history and data, a reduction in test duplication, and improved outcomes.

IDA executive director Mary Buckley added: “This investment by Cerner is ambitious in scope and addresses pressing future challenges in healthcare. It will enrich Ireland’s capability in the key technology areas of big data management and processing.”