Henry Schein gets contract to modernize U.S. military dental records

Henry Schein Inc., Long Island's largest public company by revenue, has won a piece of a multiyear contract, worth as much as $4.3 billion in total, to modernize the U.S. military's electronic health care records system.

The prime contractor, Leidos Holdings Inc., a Reston, Virginia-based company that provides health, engineering and national security services to agencies of the United States and foreign governments, made the announcement after the close of trading Wednesday.

Joining Henry Schein as subcontractors are the federal services unit of Reston, Virginia, consultancy Accenture LLP, and Kansas City, Missouri, health care information-technology company Cerner Corp.

The Leidos group beat out rival teams led by IBM Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp.

The contract, which gives the Defense Department broad discretion on funding levels, has a two-year initial ordering period that could be extended to 10 years.

Melville-based Henry Schein, which distributes products to the offices of dentists, doctors and veterinarians around the world, will work on a dental records system for the 9.6 million active U.S. military members and dependents.

In a news release, Kevin Bunker, president, Henry Schein North America Dental Practice Solutions, said that given the strong association between oral health and overall health, "the seamless sharing of medical and dental records is paramount."

SEE PHOTOSTop companies on Long Island in 2014

Shares of Henry Schein closed Thursday at $142.61, down 2.8 percent. They are up almost 5 percent year to date.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.