Becker's ASC Review

56 GASTROENTEROLOGY What will private equity do to GI care? 4 physicians weigh in By Carly Behm P rivate equity investment has grown rapidly in 2021 with groups such as PE GI Alliance, Gastro Health and GI Alli- ance snapping up deals. Four gastroenterologists told Becker's ASC Review how they pre- dict private equity will affect the GI landscape and patient care. Scott Plaehn, DO. Michigan Gastroenterology Institute (East Lansing): I believe there will continue to be consolidation of the market with a focus on delivery of value-based care. As multiple offices associate, it will be easier to coordinate best practices and monitor quality metrics ultimately providing great benefit to our patients and primary care partners. Brian Dooreck, MD. Memorial Hospital Pembroke (Pembroke Pines, Fla.): is is something that is happening and is some- what inevitable. We have been watching it in our own backyard here for years here in South Florida. Now we can see what Gasto Health has become, and what groups like the GI Alliance are. What is clear to us now, is that we "need to be in the conversa- tion" about private equity — as we now are actively choosing to do so — whether we go down that road or not. Larry Schiller, MD. Digestive Health Associates of Texas (Dallas): Private equity organizations will continue to vacuum up private practices throughout the country as older gastroenterologists see the potential to cash out. e challenge for PE organizations will be to use their scale to build value, but expenses can only be cut so far without impacting the quality of services. Competition from hospi- tal or medical school-based practice groups eventually will limit the growth of PE organizations in larger communities. Consolidation of PE organizations will be the next stage of growth for these business- es with disposition of these larger entities uncertain at present. Pos- sible outcomes include going public with an initial public offering of shares once a critical size is reached, or sale to healthcare systems or private insurance companies. For gastroenterologists individu- ally, salaries should be stable for the near term, but opportunities to profit from ancillary services may be limited. Medhi Ferdows, MD. Pacific Gastroenterology (Vancouver, Wash.): It appears that they are acquiring more practices every day. I am concerned about medical care being provided by cor- porations that may look first at profitability then at the patient's quality of care. Privately owned practices are more likely to be concerned about patient care since their reputation and livelihood depends on the quality of care that they deliver. However this is being threat- ened by corporations including hospitals which buy practices too and try to force practices to join them or be driven out by limiting their referral. If the choice is to join a hospital or private equity, then I prefer private equity that allows the practice owner to determine how to practice medicine rather than corporate managers. n 5-physician endoscopy center sold in New Mexico By Patsy Newitt T he five-physician, Las Cruces, N.M.-based Lohman Endoscopy Center was sold by Healthcare Real Estate Advisors. The 13,444-square-foot medical office building includes an ASC, an HREA associate said July 28. The center is located near MountainView Regional Medi- cal Center, a 168-bed acute-care hospital. n Merger allows North Carolina hospital to bolster GI care By Alan Condon R andolph Health in Asheboro, N.C., is reaping the rewards of its merger with American Healthcare Systems just two weeks after the deal was finalized, Fox8 reported July 19. The hospital had filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 and was sold to Roanoke, Va.-based American Healthcare Systems for more than $10 million. Now, Randolph Health's immediate focus is expanding staff and equipment for specialty care such as gastroenterology. "We have one to three patients a day that we are having to send out because we don't have the GI physicians," Randolph Health CEO Tim Ford told Fox8. The hospital plans to add a urologist and either a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. CRH Medical acquires stake in GI anesthesia company By Carly Behm C RH Medical has taken a 51 percent stake in Greater Washington Anesthesia Associates in Gainesville, Va. Greater Washington Anesthesia Associates provides an- esthesia at two endoscopic surgery facilities in Gainesville and Warrenton, Va., according to an Aug. 3 news release. The deal, CRH Medical's second acquisition in Virginia, grows the company's footprint to 77 endoscopy suites. n

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