Death rates rose in hospital ERs after private equity firms took over, study finds

After hospitals were acquired by private equity firms, patient death rates in the emergency departments rose by 13% compared to similar hospitals, a study says.

After hospitals were acquired by private equity firms, patient death rates in the emergency departments rose by 13% compared with similar hospitals, according to research published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The research, which compared outcomes at hospitals over a 10-year period, adds fresh evidence to previous studies showing harmful patient outcomes and higher costs among health care entities owned by profit-oriented financiers.

The increased deaths in emergency departments at private equity-owned hospitals are most likely the result of reduced staffing levels after the acquisitions, which the study also measured, said Dr. Zirui Song, a co-author and associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School.

After hospitals were acquired by private equity, the number of full-time employees fell by an average 11.6% compared with non-private equity facilities, the research found, and salary expenditures in the emergency departments and intensive care units declined by 18% and 16%, respectively.

“Most hospital care in the country remains a face-to-face, human, labor-intensive endeavor, especially in emergency departments and ICUs,” Song said in an interview. “When human labor is cut to this extent in staffing sensitive areas of the hospital, patient harm can plausibly ensue, including mortality.”