HOSPITALS: Private Equity Ownership Quality?

PATIENT COMPLICATION RATES

By Staff Reporters

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Hospitals under private equity (PE) ownership reported higher rates of patient complications when compared to other facilities, according to a recent JAMA study—raising questions about how the business model might affect staffing and subsequent quality of care.

The surveyed Medicare beneficiaries saw a 25.4% increase in “hospital-acquired conditions,” which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines as falls, infections, and other adverse events, when they received treatment at a PE-acquired hospital compared to those run under other forms of ownership.

On the whole, the study found that Medicare enrollees at hospitals under PE control were not only younger and less likely to additionally qualify for Medicaid but also more likely to experience complications.

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