Innovation at Sutter Health

As a not-for-profit, our view of innovation might differ from others. Because we care deeply about people and communities, our team has an inner drive—a pioneering spirit—to transform care quality and access for the better. We believe healthcare should be more compassionate, easier to understand, and more accessible and affordable to all. We must innovate to fulfill these promises.

Imagination, analysis and empathy actively fuel our drive to find solutions and improve. We move fast. And we create and try new concepts often.

We also look at innovation holistically—it’s more than the latest gadget or technology. We’re interested in how innovation can improve a person’s experience in the doctor’s office or the health of an entire community.

Stats and Facts

Innovation occurs across our network. We innovate through:

• Community Partnerships
• Advanced Technologies
• Care on Your Terms
• Research
• Operational Performance

Community Partnerships

People need care beyond our hospital and clinic walls. We’re innovating how care is delivered by taking medicine to the streets. Our Street Nurse meets homeless people in parks and alleys to provide free medical care and connect them with vital social services. We also have partnerships with many organizations to improve mental healthcare.

Advanced Technologies

Like other industries, technology helps transform healthcare. We’re piloting Google Glass technology to liberate doctors from hours of paperwork and medical charting, so they can do what they love—which is care for people. One of our hospitals is the first in California to pilot a virtually painless way to draw blood. Our staff can draw blood without inserting a needle into the patient’s vein.

Care on Your Terms

We’re opening Walk-In Care centers across Northern California to provide same-day appointments for everyday illnesses. And we’re looking for solutions to eliminate those little things in healthcare that frustrate people. For example, we’re helping people get prescriptions more conveniently, giving people faster access to their office visit notes and providing aftercare instructions that are easy to understand and follow.

Research

More than 20 years ago, one of our surgeons was the first in the nation to operate on a person using a robot, and the Smithsonian inducted his device into its halls. Now, minimally invasive surgery using robotics is commonplace. Additionally, our 2017 research commitment includes a state-of-the-art Biobank, representing one of the largest efforts by a health system in the U.S. to link genetic information to electronic health record data as a way to increase the pace of discoveries.

Operational Performance

We've streamlined business and support services to operate more efficiently and improve customer service. Since 2012, we achieved $200 million in cost savings and other benefits. By 2017, we expect that amount to grow to $300 million annually.