Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, and Ballad Health announced a 10-year agreement yesterday that will involve the health system purchasing advanced oncology treatment products and services.

"With the comprehensive integration, our two organizations will be relying on the experience and expertise of both groups to enhance the value for patients served throughout the region," Alan Levine, chairman and chief executive of Ballad Health, told HCB News. "There are many facets to this relationship, by way of tumor boards, enhancing treatment protocols, reducing fractionation and many other positive outcomes as a result of this collaboration."

The health system will start by implementing Varian's ARIA CORE oncology management solution, which is a cloud-based system that provides a holistic view of patient information, and integrating it with its Epic EHR. Early collaborative work will also entail adopting advanced digital tools that will allow care teams across the health system to get a better understanding of patients' medical needs and histories to better tailor care.

Through the partnership, upgrades will be made to Varian’s Eclipse treatment planning platform and it will then be used by Ballad Health teams as they roll out eight TrueBeam linear accelerators and an Ethos adaptive radiotherapy system.

"The full portfolio of services and technology available through Ballad Health and Varian’s agreement will progress and be adjusted as patient needs dictate," said Levine. "Those actions will be further informed by the next-generation [of] tools and support now available to Ballad Health team members."

Since Ballad Health is located in Tennessee, these advanced oncology treatment services will soon be available to patients in rural communities across the Appalachian Highlands. That includes Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, northwestern North Carolina, and southeastern Kentucky.

This agreement is one of the largest that Varian has been a part of. In addition to the products already mentioned, Ballad Health will have access to Varian's Oncology Solutions (AOS) Professional Services and the operational support and consulting services that come along with it as well as professional services for medical physics and dosimetry.

Varian will provide a technology roadmap so that the health system can adapt to future technology advancements by having the option to select different system configurations, installation dates, and sites. The health system will also be privy to Varian's market analytics and gap analyses to help them make better technology decisions.

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