Impact of Private Equity Acquisition of Hospitals on Surgical Outcomes

作者：Zayed Rashid, Mujtaba Khalil, Zaiba Shafik Dawood, Abdullah Altaf, Shahzaib Zindani, Azza Sarfraz, Odysseas P Chatzipanagiotou, Areesh Mevawalla, Timothy M. Pawlik · 发表于：Annals of Surgery · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1097/sla.0000000000006814 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Healthcare Policy and Management、Private Equity and Venture Capital、Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research

OBJECTIVE: To characterize outcomes of patients undergoing a major surgical procedure at private equity-acquired (PEA) versus non-acquired centers. BACKGROUND: Private-equity acquisitions of health centers can be followed by policy changes aimed at maximizing profit over quality of care. METHODS: Patients who underwent a major surgical procedure between 2016 and 2021 were identified using 100% Medicare Standard Analytic Files. Propensity score matching (PSM) created a well-balanced 1:1 matched cohort among patients treated at PEA and non-PEA hospitals; multivariable regression was used to assess outcomes, including complications, failure-to-rescue (FTR), extended length of inpatient stay (LOS), 90-day readmission, and 90-day mortality. RESULTS: 1,124,877 patients (coronary artery bypass graft: n=310,455, 27.6%, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: n=278,739, 24.8%, pneumonectomy: n=97,103, 8.6%, pancreatectomy: n=23,712, 2.1%, colectomy: n=414,868, 36.9%) were included; 11.9% (n=134,168) of patients underwent surgery at PEA centers. PEA centers were more likely to be low-volume (54.0% vs 29.3%) and nonteaching (52.0% vs 29.6%) hospitals (both P <0.001). PEA versus non-acquired centers more often treated patients from socially vulnerable communities (45.5% vs 31.4%) for nonmalignant conditions (77.5% vs 74.6%) (both P <0.001). After PSM, treatment at PEA remained associated with higher odds of extended LOS [odds ratio (OR): 1.09%, 95% CI: 1.07-1.11), complications (OR: 1.13, 95% ...