UC Davis Health System is one of five health systems within the University of California. It is an integrated, academic health system consisting of the UC Davis School of Medicine, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, the 619-bed, acute-care hospital and clinical services of UC Davis Medical Center, and the 1000-member physician group known as UC Davis Medical Group. The health system also includes a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, a comprehensive children's hospital and a Level I trauma center. In 2007, the health system was named as one of the 100 most highly integrated health networks in the United States.

UC Davis School of Medicine is ranked 44th among U.S. medical schools in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. It is ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the top 50 medical schools in the nation for both primary care and research.

UC Davis Medical Center serves as a clinical training site for health-care professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiological technicians, medical transcriptionists and others. The medical center's all-R.N. nursing staff is one of the most highly regarded in the nation, and is distinguished by its peer/partner relationship with medical staff. Nurses are encouraged and given assistance to seek advanced degrees. They also are encouraged to design, conduct and publish their own research studies, reflecting the health system's commitment to academically rigorous, evidence-based health care.

The health system maintains the historic UC Davis campus tradition of being guided by public service in all of its endeavors: research, care and education. The health system has a reputation for encouraging students to cross traditional dividing lines among departments, divisions and programs, emphasizing teamwork, partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Faculty, researchers and students have scores of collaborative relationships, not only among units within the health system, but also with the university's other colleges and professional schools and outside organizations, including:

Among the distinguishing features of UC Davis Health System include:

The Center for Health and Technology. This program is a world leader in the use of telecommunications and information technology to improve the availability and delivery of high-quality health care. Its “distance education” program uses interactive technologies to deliver continuing medical education (CME) and continuing nursing education (CNE) to health professionals in remote regions. Consumer health information also is delivered via distance education, with wellness classes in adult and pediatric asthma management, heart disease prevention and prenatal care, among many others.

The UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center. This is the academic home for innovative and collaborative medical research conducted at UC Davis and its many institutional and community partners. The center expedites the translation and integration of science from a variety of disciplines into discoveries and treatments that benefit society. Established with a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the center is transforming how scientists and clinicians are trained and how they conduct clinical and translational research so that new treatments reach patients more quickly.