Rishi Wadhera explains pros and cons plus potential outcomes of private equity in cardiology

The growing footprint of private equity (PE) in healthcare has sparked a vigorous debate among clinicians, economists and policymakers. Over the past decade, more than 600 U.S. hospitals and 5,000 private practices have been acquired by PE firms, with cardiology increasingly being swept into the trend. But what does this mean for patient care?

"If you look at cardiology practices, we've seen a surge in acquisitions of outpatient cardiology practices over the last three years. It's exploded since 2020," explained Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, associate director of the Smith Center for Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. "I think it begs this question of, what are the implications of these changing dynamics and organizational structures? And what does that mean for patient care and patient outcomes?"