Sutter Health and GE HealthCare enter strategic partnership to benefit patients, physicians and clinicians with advanced, AI-powered imaging

Rhea-AI Summary

Sutter Health and GE HealthCare (GEHC) have announced a seven-year strategic Care Alliance partnership, representing one of GE HealthCare's largest enterprise collaborations. The partnership aims to enhance imaging services across Sutter's 300+ facilities serving 3.5 million patients in California.

The alliance focuses on implementing advanced AI-powered imaging technology including PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound systems. Key technologies include GE HealthCare's Omni Legend PET/CT, StarGuide SPECT/CT, and Vscan Air™ SL ultrasound with Caption AI™ software.

The collaboration will support Sutter's expansion plans, including new care sites across Northern California and specialized centers for heart, vascular, cancer, and neuroscience care. The partnership includes workforce development programs through Sutter Health University, focusing on training technologists, nurses, and physicians while promoting diversity in healthcare staffing.

Positive

• Strategic seven-year partnership with major healthcare provider serving 3.5 million patients
• Comprehensive technology deployment across 300+ facilities
• Expansion of service delivery points and market presence in California
• Implementation of advanced AI-powered imaging solutions across multiple modalities

Negative

• None.

Insights

Healthcare Technology Analyst

This strategic partnership represents a significant technological and operational advancement for both GEHC and Sutter Health. The seven-year enterprise deal positions GEHC to secure substantial recurring revenue from one of the largest health systems in California, serving 3.5 million patients.

The comprehensive technology deployment includes critical AI-powered imaging solutions like AIR™ Recon DL, Omni Legend PET/CT and StarGuide SPECT/CT. This broad implementation across 300+ facilities will drive GEHC's market penetration and create a strong moat through deep system integration. The deal's service component ensures steady maintenance revenue streams while the workforce development program helps address healthcare staffing challenges.

The partnership's scope extends beyond traditional equipment sales, encompassing digital integration and service line expansion. This positions GEHC to capture additional value from Sutter's planned expansion, including new cancer centers and specialty care facilities.

Market Research Analyst

The strategic implications of this deal extend beyond immediate financial benefits. This partnership model represents a shift in healthcare technology procurement, moving from transactional equipment sales to long-term, integrated solutions. For GEHC investors, this signals:

1. Enhanced Revenue Predictability: The seven-year commitment provides stable, recurring revenue streams
2. Market Share Protection: The comprehensive nature of the deal effectively locks out competitors from a major health system
3. Expansion Potential: Success with Sutter could lead to similar deals with other health systems

The timing is particularly strategic as healthcare providers increasingly seek AI-enabled solutions to address staffing shortages and operational efficiency. This deal could serve as a blueprint for future enterprise partnerships, potentially transforming GEHC's business model.

• The multi-year collaboration enables expanded access to quality diagnostic care for patients in California and provides Sutter physicians and clinicians with access to technology advances and innovations. It will also drive ongoing, comprehensive training and education, fostering future healthcare professionals representing the diverse communities they serve.
• Sutter Health, one of the top integrated health delivery systems in the country with more than 300 facilities, serves more than 3.5 million patients and estimates it will be able to serve tens of thousands more patients annually through the expansion this collaboration enables.
• Care Alliance with Sutter Health is one of GE HealthCare’s largest ever enterprise strategic partnerships, and evolution of 20-year relationship between two organizations.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sutter Health and GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) today announced a seven-year strategic enterprise partnership, known as a Care Alliance, that aims to increase access to innovative imaging services and create a more seamless and coordinated experience for clinicians and patients across the Sutter Health system. The long-term collaboration will increase access to essential diagnostic care across California, providing patients with advanced technology in their own communities that can help enable quicker appointment scheduling, accelerated diagnostic imaging scan results, early diagnoses, greater convenience, and more consistent and timely care. This Care Alliance marks one of GE HealthCare's largest ever enterprise strategic partnerships.

For Sutter, this alliance will help achieve faster access to novel equipment and technology solutions, as well as provide an innovative service delivery model with enhanced, reliable equipment availability. It is grounded in key goals, including expanded access to care, improved patient experience, more consistency regardless of care location, increased patient capacity, greater system integration and interoperability, and a timely refresh of needed equipment. It centers on several areas of collaboration, including optimized technology, an innovative service delivery model, advancing service line care at destination centers of excellence and digital integration.

“This strategic partnership is rooted in our commitment to providing innovative, high-caliber care to our 3.5 million patients across Northern California and the Central Coast,” said Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “We’re responding to what we’ve heard from our physicians and making comprehensive upgrades with the latest technology to boost our capacity and expand access points. This collaboration ensures that no matter where patients enter the Sutter Health system, they’ll receive seamless and coordinated care.”

The first key focus area of the Care Alliance is an accelerated technology program across the Sutter Health system that will focus on some of the most advanced AI-powered imaging technology and digital solutions available to patients, including PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine and ultrasound. GE HealthCare’s interventional, mammography, diagnostic cardiology, maternal and infant care and anesthesia solutions will also be included in Sutter Health’s ambulatory care centers, helping to address the growing need for care outside of the traditional hospital setting. This comprehensive technology refresh covers the breadth of GE HealthCare’s portfolio of solutions, providing clinicians with innovative options to meet changing patient needs more efficiently and quickly.

“We are committed to support Sutter Health in its mission and have deep respect for their openness to a collaboration that meets the heart of their needs,” said Catherine Estrampes, U.S. and Canada president & CEO at GE HealthCare. “This Care Alliance is a customized, clinician-focused approach aligned with our shared goals. It was jointly designed with expert assessment of how we provide our latest imaging technology in the right settings to serve patients most efficiently throughout their care journey, closer to home. We look forward to supporting Sutter Health physicians and clinicians in delivering enhanced patients’ outcomes.”

Imaging and ultrasound solutions, enabled by digital and AI advancements, will be implemented across the entire healthcare system over several years, reducing variation and providing the innovation clinicians need to best serve patients. Innovative new solutions include GE HealthCare’s Omni Legend PET/CT, StarGuide SPECT/CT and Vscan Air™ SL ultrasound with Caption AI™ software. Notably, GE HealthCare’s AIR™ Recon DL MR image reconstruction will be deployed and utilizes deep learning algorithms to improve image quality and MRI scan times. By optimizing image reconstruction AIR™ Recon DL reduces artifacts, and enhances image clarity and scan times, enabling clinicians to obtain high-quality diagnostic images while improving patient comfort and workflow efficiency.

The strategic partnership also supports Sutter Health’s larger access strategy, which includes opening dozens of new care sites across Northern California in the next few years. Additionally, it will further support the health system’s expansion of advanced service lines and destination centers of excellence including areas such as heart and vascular care, cancer care and neurosciences. This includes access to new technology and digital optimization to expand clinical procedures and services, helping enable precise, high-quality patient care from early screening to diagnosis to treatment to monitoring. For example, Sutter Health plans to build a new cancer center on Sutter’s Memorial Medical Center campus in the California Central Valley and recently announced two new flagship campuses in Silicon Valley with specialty care focuses. Potential future areas of enhanced services across the Sutter Health system could include mental health, orthopedics, women’s health and pediatrics.

Sutter Health will adopt technology at a more rapid pace with an accelerated upgrade schedule, including the latest software releases to prevent obsolescence and keep technologies current over the long-term. The service delivery model will help ensure consistent operations and minimize unexpected disruptions—with patient safety, efficiency and reliability in mind.

The agreement will also include significant investment in Sutter Health’s workforce development programs to include ongoing training and education for technologists, nurses and physicians through Sutter Health University and other learning opportunities, which includes supporting the next generation of clinicians who are reflective of the communities they serve. GE HealthCare plans to assist Sutter Health in the design of a scalable workforce and talent development program that includes talent pathway community outreach, collaborations with radiologic technologist schools, as well as talent acquisition, development and retention, including leadership and clinical learning journeys. The program will aim at addressing the critical clinician shortage and support healthcare providers’ clinical staffing needs.

About Sutter Health

Sutter Health is a not-for-profit healthcare system dedicated to providing comprehensive care throughout California. Committed to health equity, community partnerships, and innovative, high-quality patient care, Sutter Health is pursuing a bold new plan to reach more people and make excellent healthcare more connected and accessible. Currently serving nearly 3.5 million patients, thanks to our dedicated team of more than 57,000 employees and clinicians, and 12,000+ affiliated physicians, with a unified focus on expanding care to serve more patients.

Sutter delivers exceptional and affordable care through its hospitals, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, telehealth, home health, and hospice services. Dedicated to transforming healthcare, at Sutter Health, getting better never stops.

Learn more about how Sutter Health is transforming healthcare at sutterhealth.org and vitals.sutterhealth.org.

About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.

GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Advanced Visualization Solutions, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring. We are a $19.6 billion business with approximately 51,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no limits.

Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and Insights for the latest news, or visit our website https://www.gehealthcare.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114027612/en/

Sutter Health Media Contact:

Liz Madison

liz.madison@sutterhealth.org

GE HealthCare Media Contact:

Sara Pottle

M +1 626 390 7620

sara.pottle@gehealthcare.com

Source: GE HealthCare

FAQ

What is the duration and scope of GE HealthCare's (GEHC) partnership with Sutter Health?

The partnership is a seven-year strategic Care Alliance that covers implementation of advanced imaging technology across Sutter Health's 300+ facilities serving 3.5 million patients in California.

What specific imaging technologies will GEHC provide to Sutter Health?

GE HealthCare will provide PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI, CT, X-ray, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound systems, including Omni Legend PET/CT, StarGuide SPECT/CT, and Vscan Air™ SL ultrasound with Caption AI™ software.

How will the GEHC-Sutter Health partnership impact patient care?

The partnership aims to enable quicker appointment scheduling, faster diagnostic scan results, early diagnoses, greater convenience, and more consistent care delivery across Sutter Health's network.

What workforce development initiatives are included in the GEHC-Sutter Health alliance?

The partnership includes training programs through Sutter Health University for technologists, nurses, and physicians, with focus on developing healthcare professionals representative of their communities.

How will GEHC's AI technology improve imaging services at Sutter Health?

GE HealthCare's AIR™ Recon DL technology will improve image quality, reduce scan times, decrease artifacts, and enhance image clarity while improving patient comfort and workflow efficiency.