ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø

February 14, 2025, Paper: "Private equity (PE) has become increasingly important in US health care over the last 20 years. Over 800 PE health care transactions were completed in 2022; total deal value over the preceding decade is estimated at $750 billion.^, Physician practices have become an attractive target: between 2010 and 2020, PE investors purchased over 1000 US practices. Typically, PE investors seek a return within 3 to 7 years. Some stakeholders have raised concerns that these short-term objectives may conflict with the longer-term interests of patients, payers, and physicians.^, Several prior studies examined the effects of PE acquisitions of physician practices.^- These document postacquisition increases in charges, allowed amounts per claim, encounter volumes, and new patient volume.^- One study examining the effects on clinicians found that PE acquisition was followed by increased turnover and a shift toward advanced practice clinicians. However, what happens after PE exits from physician practice investments (ie, the PE investor sells the practice) remains unexplored. Exits may impact physician retention for several reasons, including changes in financial incentives to continue working in the practice. Many PE-acquired practices were previously independent, run by physician-owners and acquired for substantial sums, reportedly 3 to 13 times practice earnings.^, PE acquisitions are typically structured to provide financial incentives for physician-owners to stay for a period, but these incentives may disappear after the initial PE investor exits the practice.^, However, the exiting PE firm may incentivize anchor physicians to reroll their equity to reassure buyers they will stay after purchase.^, Ultimately, the effect of PE exit on physician retention is an empirical question. An impact on retention, if present, may have important implications for patients, physicians, investors, and physician markets. Turnover may disrupt patient-physician relationships, with potentially adverse effects on patient outcomes,^, and it may also reflect negative physician experiences with PE owners. Investors may want to incorporate expectations regarding retention into their strategies. Finally, accelerated post–PE exit departures may contribute to broader shifts away from independent practices toward larger hospital systems and corporations. In this study, we examine physician employment decisions following the exit of initial PE investors from physician practices."