Varian to deploy standardized treatment systems at UnityPoint Health hospitals across Iowa and Illinois
PALO ALTO, Calif. /PRNewswire/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) announced that it has entered an agreement with UnityPoint Health to be its exclusive supplier of software and devices for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery. The agreement is part of a long-term plan for enhancing and extending radiotherapy and radiosurgery cancer treatment capabilities across the UnityPoint Health system.
Under the agreement, UnityPoint Health expects to acquire four to five Varian TrueBeam™ systems over the next three to five years. The agreement also includes a customized service agreement with Varian to complement internal resources at UnityPoint Health as well as a seven-year Enterprise Software Agreement to support a system-wide deployment of Varian's ARIA® data management and Eclipse™ treatment planning software.
The total value of the multi-year agreement is estimated at $20 to $25 million. Varian booked a small portion of the order connected with the software and service agreements during the second quarter of fiscal year 2014. The remainder of the order will be booked in accordance with the company's policies over the term of the agreement.
"We are looking forward to the addition of stereotactic radiosurgery capabilities throughout our radiotherapy departments so that a patient who needs this type of treatment can get it anywhere within our system," said Chad Wolbers, chief operating officer at UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital.
Prior to this agreement, UnityPoint Health radiation oncology departments had already standardized their data management and treatment planning processes through a centralized deployment of ARIA and Eclipse.
"This kind of centralized software implementation facilitates economies of scale and enhances continuity of care," said Wolbers. "You can have a patient's diagnostic images taken in one place; plan the treatments at another site; and then deliver the treatments at a third site closest to the patient's home. All systems can be connected and draw on the same central database."
"UnityPoint Health has a unique and impressive process in place for making decisions about all aspects of its oncology program, including the standardizing of cancer treatment technology," said Steve Schroeder, Varian's vice president of strategic accounts. "Their Oncology Affinity Group, which comprises leadership from each cancer center as well as their corporate team, creates a strategic vision for oncology services that fits with their overall institutional commitment to accountable, coordinated care. This agreement was put in place so that Varian can help them realize that vision."
