Sacramento, California-based Sutter Health serves more than 3.5 million patients across its 300-plus facilities, and this partnership will modernize the technology that patients, physicians and clinicians interact with, Chief Executive Officer Warner Thomas said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
“We’re really looking to standardize and align our imaging equipment across our organization,” Thomas said.
GE HealthCare CEO Peter Arduini said he expects to enter into more strategic partnerships as consolidation of the health system continues and as the firm evolves from an imaging company to providing a variety of healthcare solutions. Since the spinoff, the company has entered into more than 25 strategic partnerships, including a research and product development program with the Mayo Clinic and a 10-year partnership with the Ohio-based University Hospitals.
AI and data management will continue to be a “big focus” for the company, Arduini said.
Starting in April, Sutter Health facilities will begin receiving new technology, including PET/CT scanners, and MRI and ultrasound imaging machines. Ambulatory care centers will get GE HealthCare’s mammography, diagnostic cardiology, anesthesia solutions and maternal and infant care.
“A lot of the AI that we have in the products is really about helping a clinician get to the answer sooner, or actually having the product be that much more efficient,” Arduini said.
Sutter Health has been purchasing technology from GE HealthCare — and GE before the spinoff — over the course of their 20-year relationship. Thomas and Arduini both said this agreement will allow for a more seamless integration of technologies.
Expansion Plan
Sutter Health announced three new facilities last year, including two ambulatory centers in Santa Clara and a new cancer center in the California Central Valley. Through 2025, Sutter Health will open a total of 15 new ambulatory centers as part of the expansion strategy.
The Care Alliance partnership will help support Sutter Health’s expansion by addressing the national clinician shortage, using AI to get speedier diagnostic scan results. GE HealthCare plans to assist Sutter in the design of a talent development program that will include community outreach and collaborations with radiologic technologist schools.
Last year, Sutter Health hired more than a thousand new clinicians and physicians, and Thomas said the workforce expansion will continue in 2025.
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