Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, has signed a 10-year agreement with Ballad Health to provide advanced oncology treatment services to people living in rural communities across the US.
The initiative will serve patients in rural communities across the Appalachian Highlands. Key regions include Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, northwestern North Carolina, and southeastern Kentucky.
The collaboration with Ballad Health in Johnson City, Tennessee, aims to transform oncology care. It will deliver advanced treatment technology through a fully integrated digital network across Ballad Health.
This initiative is expected to accelerate the patient journey from screening to survivorship, enhancing overall care and support.
Varian head Arthur Kaindl said: “We’re excited to help Ballad Health implement advanced radiotherapy solutions and services, providing its care teams with the technology to deliver world-class care to its patients.”
The agreement is said to be one of the largest in Varian’s history. It includes a portfolio of products and services for a unified oncology ecosystem.
Ballad Health care teams will gain better visibility into patient data using Varian’s ARIA CORE oncology management solution and the Executive Partnership programme, enabling them to deliver more personalised care, Varian said.
To ensure technology implementation and adoption, Ballad Health staff and clinicians will utilise Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) Professional Services.
These services will offer operational support and consulting services to better serve patients throughout the agreement.
Additionally, the AOS team will provide professional services in medical physics and dosimetry.
Ballad Health chairman and CEO Alan Levine said: “This investment, coupled with other capital projects in the coming years, cement Ballad Health and its facilities as a top choice in healthcare – for patients, team members and clinicians alike.”
Ballad Health is a not-for-profit health system with 20 hospitals, a large multi-speciality group physician practice and post-acute care and behavioural health services.
Varian has been collaborating with Ballad Health for over 25 years.
The new collaboration includes eight TrueBeam linear accelerators and one Ethos adaptive radiotherapy system, to be delivered to six sites in Tennessee and Virginia.
This will help the health system to implement advanced linac technology more quickly.
Additionally, Varian will support a technology roadmap, allowing Ballad Health to adapt to future advancements.
The Siemens Healthineers company will also provide market analytics and gap analyses to help Ballad Health make informed technology decisions.
In July this year, Varian secured 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its IntelliBlate microwave ablation system.
