Private equity has been under the microscope recently as its role in healthcare is being questioned by federal agencies and physicians alike.
According to a study in JAMA Network Internal Medicine, more than 60% of physicians feel negatively about private equity's role in healthcare. Just 10.5% of physicians said they view private equity as positive.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found private equity-backed hospitals may have worse quality of inpatient care. Findings like this could contribute to physicians' wariness toward private equity.
Though private equity has a strong presence throughout several areas of healthcare, some specialties are seeing more activity than others. Gastroenterology saw a decrease in private equity activity in 2023 compared to 2022, while cardiology saw an increase in deals.
Overall, private equity deals were down 16.2% in 2023.