The American Medical Association plans to examine how the trend of corporate parties purchasing specialty physicians and practices affects care delivered, according to MarketWatch.
Here are four things to know:
1. The AMA is conducting a study on how widespread the trend of private equity and venture capital firms in physician groups is and whether it changes how physicians practice. The firms purchase physician groups, expand them rapidly and then resell them in many cases.
2. The trend in PE and VC funding shows these firms find physician practices a good investment, but critics are concerned there could be a bubble and practices will rely on lesser trained physicians to provide care they may not be well trained for due to the rapid expansion demands.
3. AMA also hopes to examine how acquired practices use physician extenders, such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Ownership could affect the financial viability of the practice as well in the long term and alter an independent practice's competitiveness in the market.
4. While private equity investment is most common in dermatology, corporate dollars are increasingly investing in specialties and surgery centers. KKR recently acquired Envision Healthcare, which includes EmCare and AmSurg.