JAMA Original Investigation Article
Journal of the American Medical Association, December 26,2023
Data from 100% Medicare Part A claims for 662,095 hospitalizations at 51 private equity-acquired hospitals were compared with data for 4,160,720 hospitalizations at 259 matched control hospitals for hospital stays between 2009 and 2019. Hospital-acquired events were compared for three years before private equity acquisition and three years after acquisition.
What’s Interesting about this article?
- Hospital- acquired adverse events included falls, infections and other adverse events as defined by the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- Private equity acquisition was associated with increased falls, central line-associated bloodstream infections and surgical site infections.
- A small decrease in in-hospital mortality at private equity hospitals may be explained by a case shift to younger Medicare beneficiaries and increased transfers to other hospitals.
JournalDoc Comments:
- This is an impressive study by doctors from the Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the top hospitals in the US.
- In the past, US hospitals were urged to become more “business-like” to decrease health care costs. The findings in this article raise significant concerns that this transition may decrease the quality of care and patient outcomes.
- It is not clear whether the increase in falls and hospital-acquired infections were related to reduced staffing or other cost-cutting measures employed to increase profitability.
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