Lifespan, based in Providence, RI, and Waukesha, Wis.-based GE Healthcare have teamed up with the goal to increase capacity within the health system while reducing the cost of care. The agreement targets $182 million in organizational efficiencies for Lifespan over the next 6 years. Under the plan, GE Healthcare will assist Lifespan to improve patient flow, increase capacity for services, decrease wait times, pinpoint inefficiencies, and reduce costs.

“Our mission is ‘Delivering health with care,'” says Timothy J. Babineau, MD, president and CEO of Lifespan. “Therefore, our patients and their families are at the center of every decision we make. Today, our hospitals are at capacity and the emergency departments are full of patients seeking high-quality care. This collaboration with GE Healthcare will help meet these challenges by providing our health system with unparalleled access to resources, expertise, and digital tools. This means our patients will receive care in the most appropriate and efficient setting, even as our volume increases.”

The system-wide initiative includes a capacity management strategy that will better align departments and service lines, improve processes, and optimize space.

Lifespan and GE Healthcare will work together to assess Lifespan’s imaging needs and co-design a workforce management system that meets increasing patient demand. Ultimately, the two organizations will ensure the health system has access to the most cutting-edge data analytics and tools to help streamline the patient experience and reduce costs.

“We are excited to collaborate with Lifespan, the leading provider in Rhode Island and a critical contributor to the state’s health care ecosystem,” says Helen Stewart, managing principal at GE Healthcare Partners.  “This innovative collaboration will reshape how and when patients are treated and help overcome the challenges that exist within many health systems today.”

Through a shared-risk model that aligns the interests of Lifespan with GE Healthcare, both organizations have agreed to outcomes that must be achieved throughout the 6-year relationship. This partnership, a unique collaboration as opposed to a traditional transactional relationship, is GE Healthcare’s first risk-sharing model collaboration in Rhode Island and the fifth collaboration of its kind in the United States.