Cerner, McKesson cooperating for HIE, interoperability's sake?

Two of the largest vendors of electronic health records products are in discussions to make their EHR patient data exchange interoperable—a deal which, if completed, would potentially present a shift in the entire interoperable landscape for hospitals, physicians and patients. Cerner Corp. and McKesson Corp. are working on a joint agreement to enable cross-vendor, national health information exchange, say sources with some knowledge of an impending deal between the two vendors.