Jerry Blackwell explains why private equity is courting cardiology

Private equity investment in cardiology continues to generate strong reactions across the specialty. However, the actual footprint of such ownership remains relatively small and is unlikely to become dominant, according to Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC, president and CEO at MedAxiom, an ACC company, and a practicing cardiologist at Ballad Health in Kingsport, Tennessee.

He presented on private equity at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2026 annual meeting and spoke with Cardiovascular Business in the above video interview. Blackwell said concerns about private equity have often outpaced the reality of its actual market presence.

“It's a topic that has created great emotion inside the specialty,” Blackwell said. “It's just another way of infusing capital, another ownership model inside of cardiology, but it has some generally negative connotations because folks think it's only about the money.”

Private equity companies have entered cardiology because the subspecialty has undergone a dramatic transformation in practice ownership over the past decade. Independent physician-owned practices made up about 90% of the ownership model in 2012. But due to federal reimbursement policies, this changed rapidly over the past decade to where 90% of cardiologists are now employed by health systems or are private equity owned. However, Blackwell noted private equity ownership still accounts for only a small portion of the specialty.

“Private equity ownership in cardiology now only represents about 5% to 10% at maximum,” he said.