It serves as a major regional referral center for Utah and the surrounding states of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.

University of Utah Health is praised for the following specialties: cardiology, geriatrics, gynecology, pediatrics, rheumatology, pulmonology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, and ophthalmology.

In 1982, Barney Clark received the world's first permanently implanted artificial heart, the Jarvik-7, during an operation performed by William C. DeVries, M.D.

[3] In 2001 the hospital was named as the Intermountain West's first nationally certified Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons.

[6] Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D. won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine as a University of Utah gene targeting pioneer.

[8][9] In July 2017, the hospital was part of an incident where the police detective Jeff Payne wrongfully arrested nurse Alex Wubbels.