In Brief: Study Shows Dramatic Rise in Private Equity Firms Acquiring Outpatient Cardiology Practices in the U.S Since 2021

A national study by health policy experts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrates that there has been a dramatic rise in private equity (PE) firms acquiring outpatient cardiology practices in the United States.

Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, Associate Director of the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at BIDMC, and colleagues looked at multiple databases to characterize PE acquisitions of outpatient cardiology clinics in the U.S. from 2013-2023. They found 278 unique clinic sites were acquired by PE firms during the study period. Because nearly a quarter of sites changed hands more than once, this represented 342 total PE acquisitions, of which a whopping 95 percent occurred from 2021-2023. Overall, cardiology clinics in the south and west were more likely to be acquired by PE firms, with the highest number of acquisitions occurring in Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

Wadhera and colleagues noted that PE firms’ disproportionately acquired cardiology practices located in wealthy communities, which may funnel capital and resources away from practices located in underserved communities. Nearly one in four PE-acquired cardiology clinic sites changed hands more than once over the 10-year study – a known strategy employed by private equity firms who favor short-term investments over three- to seven-year time periods. Shorter investment timelines incentivize changes in care delivery that maximize profits but could potentially worsen quality of care for patients.

Read the full paper in the Journal of American College of Cardiology

BIDMC Study Authors: Victoria L. Bartlett, MD, Michael Liu, MPhil, Shylie Ati, BA, Robert W. Yeh, MD, MSc, and Zhaonian Zheng, Msc

COI: Dr. Wadhera discloses research support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and serves as a consultant for Abbott, CVS Health and Chambercardio outside the submitted work. Dr. Yeh receives research support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Richard A, and Susan F, Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology and reports receiving personal fees from Biosense Webster and grants and personal fees from Abbott Vascular, AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific and Medtronic, outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Citation: Bartlett, VL. (2024) “Private Equity Acquisitions of Outpatient Cardiology Practices in the United States 2013-23.” Journal of American College of Cardiology [DOI TK]