The new approach allows private practices to expand and evolve without being acquired.

San Diego-based Turquoise Health was founded in 2020 and has evolved to be a healthcare pricing engine used to develop health plan networks and contract rates. The company said its end goal is complete price transparency to make it easier for all organizations and patients to navigate the U.S. healthcare system.

The two not-for-profit health systems announced the merger on Wednesday. Although the deal won’t be finalized for some time, they teased new investments that will bring 39 hospitals and more than 400 primary and specialty care sites under the banner of a new Sutter Health. 

The problem is limited to surgical stapler reloads used by the da Vinci robot, specifically those manufactured by Intuitive Surgical. The FDA said it’s currently investigating why the reloads are leaving incomplete line formations. For now, they need to be pulled from all patient care settings. 

The caper was carried out by a former employee of Nuance Communications, a Microsoft subsidiary. According to court documents, the man used his credentials to access patient data from 1.3 million patients at Geisinger. Police said they found the trove stored on a flash drive in his car.