Across six specialties, 4.9 percent of physicians worked in private equity-backed practices in 2019, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum.
The study, published April 29, examined 2019 data from the IQVIA OneKey database, which has physician and practice information on 9.7 million health professionals. It analyzed six specialities: dermatology, gastroenterology, urology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology. It then calculated private equity penetration at the hospital referral region and state level as the estimated percentage of physicians across the specialties who belonged to private equity-acquired practices. Read more about the methodology here.
Here is the percentage of private-equity penetration across six specialties in 2019, according to the study:
Dermatology: 7.5 percent
Gastroenterology: 7.4 percent
Urology: 6.5 percent
Ophthalmology: 5.1 percent
Obstetrics and gynecology: 4.7 percent
Orthopedics: 1.9 percent