A study published on JAMA Network on December 26, 2023 reported: “In a difference-in-differences examination of 662 095 hospitalizations at 51 private equity–acquired hospitals and 4 160 720 hospitalizations at 259 matched control hospitals using 100% Medicare Part A claims data, private equity acquisition was associated with a 25.4% increase in hospital-acquired conditions, which was driven by falls and central line–associated bloodstream infections. Medicare beneficiaries at private equity hospitals were modestly younger, less likely to have dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, and transferred more to other acute care hospitals relative to control, likely reflecting a lower-risk population of admitted beneficiaries. This potentially explained a small relative reduction for in-hospital mortality that dissipated by 30 days after hospital discharge.”
The study found that private equity acquisition was associated with a 25% increase in hospital-acquired adverse events through up to 3 years after acquisition, which was driven by a 27% increase in falls and a 38% increase in the volume of central line–associated infections (despite the placement of 16% fewer central lines). The study also found the doubling of surgical site infections in private equity hospitals after acquisition, whereas the number of surgical site infections declined in the control hospitals – the number of surgical site infections increased even as private equity hospitals performed 8% fewer surgical procedures after acquisition.
The researchers stated, “Private equity acquisition of hospitals, on average, was associated with increased hospital-acquired adverse events despite a likely lower-risk pool of admitted Medicare beneficiaries, suggesting poorer quality of inpatient care.”
The four most common indications for hospital admission were sepsis, heart failure with shock, total hip arthroplasty, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pneumonia which accounted for more than 20% of all Medicare hospitalizations. The remaining hospitalizations comprised an “other” category. In addition to in-hospital mortality, 7-day and 30-day mortality were measured because they are often considered more informative. These were calculated using validated dates of death from the Medicare beneficiary summary file.
Hospital-Acquired Conditions Defined
The hospital-acquired conditions (delineated by Medicare in 2009) were (1) foreign object retained after a surgery, (2) air embolism, (3) blood incompatibility, (4) stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers, (5) falls and trauma, (6) catheter-associated urinary tract infections, (7) central line–associated infection, (8) surgical site infections from coronary artery bypass graft surgeries, (9) surgical site infections from bariatric surgeries, (10) surgical site infections from certain orthopedic procedures, (11) manifestations of poor glycemic control (diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycemic coma), and (12) deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) after total knee and hip replacement procedures.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of hospital negligence in the United States, you should promptly find a medical malpractice attorney in your state who may investigate your hospital malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a hospital medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice lawyers in your U.S. state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.