WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — From 2013 to 2023, 342 cardiology clinics were acquired by private equity firms, with 94.7 percent of the acquisitions occurring between 2021 and 2023, according to a study published online June 30 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology to coincide with the AcademyHealth 2024 Annual Research Meeting, held from June 29 to July 2 in Baltimore.
Victoria L. Bartlett, M.D., from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues examined the number of private equity acquisitions of cardiology practices between January 2013 and September 2023.
The researchers found there were 41 acquisitions of outpatient cardiology practices by private equity firms during the study period, corresponding to 342 clinic sites. There was an increase seen in the number of clinic sites acquired per year, from 0 in 2013 to 215 in 2023; 94.7 percent of the acquisitions occurred from 2021 to 2023. Sixty-four clinic sites were acquired twice, resulting in 278 unique cardiology clinic sites acquired, representing 2.9 percent of all U.S. cardiology clinics. Cardiology clinics were significantly less likely to be acquired when located in the highest poverty communities versus the wealthiest communities (top versus bottom poverty quartile, 2.0 versus 2.9 percent; adjusted rate ratio, 0.61). The likelihood of being acquired was higher for clinics located in the South or West than those in the Northeast (4.3 and 3.8 percent, respectively, versus 1.5 percent; adjusted rate ratios, 3.17 and 2.60, respectively).
“As the number of cardiology acquisitions by private equity increases, it will be critical to monitor the effects on procedural utilization, quality, and outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease,” the authors write.
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