Unlocking value for the University of Vermont Health Network
- By Philips
- March 03 2025
- 2 min read
The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated academic health system serving a population of more than a million people in Vermont and northern New York. The network includes the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) in Burlington, the primary teaching facility for medical students at the University of Vermont. UVMMC needed to create an environment in which radiologists and staff could access cutting-edge technology and stay abreast of the latest breakthroughs.
At-a-glance:
- Partner
- University of Vermont Health Network, serving more than a million people in Vermont and northern New York
- Challenge
- The initial need for multi-slice CT technology arose as UVMMC sought to keep pace with rapid advancements in medical imaging, ensuring radiologists had access to the latest innovations to improve diagnostic accuracy, workflow efficiency, and patient care.
- Solution
- What started as a research and development collaboration grew into a 10-year, long-term strategic partnership covering multiple modalities.
- Results
- Overall equipment uptime: 99.62%
- Ontime patient scheduling with reduced modality backlog
- VMHN overall net promoter score: 93.8
- Service quality score: 96
- Clinical education score: 99.9
- Savings of over $5 million since 2017
- Lowered overall service cost by $500K annually
This need became particularly evident at the start of the CT multi-slice revolution, when the technology was advancing quickly and the UVMMC radiology department had to find a way to stay relevant in CT. UVMMC approached Philips to discuss a collaborative agreement that would provide radiologists at UVMMC with multi-slice CT scanners. Radiology would work with Philips software developers on the protocols and scanning techniques for patient imaging. Initially, they embarked on a five-year agreement based on co-developing 16-slice, 40-slice and 64-slice CT.
The solution: an evolving partnership
As the relationship progressed, an opportunity presented itself for Philips to take inventory of the complete UVMMC radiology digital X-ray system. In doing so, the team developed a digital X-ray fleet program that outlined the equipment to review, end-of-life equipment cycles, current software versions and operating systems, a potential replacement and/or upgrade schedule and patient safety issues.
The deepening partnership enabled the teams to unlock increased value from their technology by understanding the synchronization of people and processes. This approach was also taken to help the network properly embed Philips PerformanceBridge, a real-time data platform that aggregates data from multiple sources like RIS, PACS and financial systems to help drive improvement in areas such as asset optimization, workflow and planning.
The relationship evolved to become a 10-year, long-term strategic partnership that went beyond radiology. “What was initially a transactional relationship has given way to true value with even greater involvement, including network radiology, cardiology and patient monitoring,” says Rick Penny, Solutions Leader for Long-term Strategic Partnerships at Philips.
Positive results
“Over the years, we have undertaken small, medium and large-scale changes together,” says Matt Egan, Customer Delivery Manager at Philips. “The result has been striking improvements in outcomes and efficiency, and growth in market share.”
The long-term strategic partnership between the University of Vermont Health Network and Philips has unlocked value:
Improved patient experience
- Overall equipment uptime: 99.62%
- Ontime patient scheduling with reduced modality backlog
Improved staff experience
- UVMHN overall net promoter score: 93.8
- Service quality score: 96
- Clinical education score: 99.9
Technology asset planning
- Resistance to obsolescence, equipment end of life
- Maintain cutting-edge imaging technology
Partnership savings
- Savings total over $5 million since 2017 for the University of Vermont Medical Center
- Lowered overall service cost by $500K annually with the University of Vermont Health Network-wide Multi-Vendor Service Agreement
Unlocking value for the University of Vermont Health Network
Copy this URLto share this story with your professional network
Sign up for news and updates
Disclaimer
Results are specific to the institution where they were obtained and may not reflect the results achievable at other institutions. Results in other cases may vary.