A new book from the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL), Private Equity and Healthcare: Leadership, Economics, and Trends for the Future, authored by Max Reiboldt, CPA, delves into the growing influence of private equity (PE) in U.S. healthcare. The book provides a balanced analysis of PE’s impact, equipping healthcare leaders to make informed decisions. It highlights the potential for innovation and efficiency alongside challenges to patient care quality. Contributions from industry experts offer insights into managing these complexities. The book aims to guide physicians and healthcare leaders as they navigate the evolving landscape of PE investments.
Author: Abhay Panchal
Physicians Practice has released its 2024 ranking of the best U.S. states for practicing medicine, using seven key criteria: cost of living, physician density, state business tax levels, malpractice insurance rates, quality of life, women’s healthcare, and Geographic Practice Cost Indices (GPCI). These rankings provide insights into which states offer the most favorable conditions for physicians, drawing from publicly available data and insights from Physicians Practice partners.
Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed to a $2.8 billion settlement to resolve antitrust claims from hospitals and healthcare providers, marking the largest healthcare antitrust settlement to date. The lawsuit, filed in 2012, accused Blue Cross of dividing territories to limit competition, inflating insurance costs, and underpaying providers. In addition to the monetary settlement, Blue Cross will implement operational changes, including a new information platform for claims transparency and increased contracting opportunities for providers. The deal, subject to court approval, follows a similar $2.7 billion settlement with subscribers in 2020, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld earlier this year.
In the latest episode of The Scope with Dr. K, Dr. Lawrence Kosinski interviews Leo Grady, CEO of Jona, about how AI is transforming microbiome research and healthcare. Jona’s AI-driven insights connect gut health to areas like brain function, metabolism, and physical performance, offering personalized recommendations for diet, lifestyle, and medications. The discussion highlights Jona’s future plans for diagnostics and therapeutics, emphasizing the potential for routine microbiome testing to prevent illness and enhance holistic care.
Amazon’s One Medical has unveiled new AI tools, powered by AWS HealthScribe and Amazon Bedrock, aimed at reducing administrative burdens for healthcare providers. These tools will capture real-time patient visit notes for provider review, summarize external medical records, and streamline messaging by routing tasks to appropriate care team members based on patient needs.The initiative reflects One Medical’s strategy to leverage AI to improve care delivery by freeing providers from time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on patient care. “Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery,” said Prakash Bulusu, CTO at Amazon Health Services.
IBD clinical trials face growing challenges with recruitment and design. Patients often opt for approved therapies over trials with placebo arms or novel treatments, limiting participation. Dr. David Rubin of the University of Chicago emphasizes the need for more innovative, accessible trial designs, such as head-to-head comparisons and umbrella trials, to improve recruitment and efficacy evaluation.Dr. Marla Dubinsky of Mount Sinai calls for more inclusive inclusion criteria, noting that real-world practices differ from clinical trial protocols, such as requiring long washout periods. She advocates for pediatric drug development to leverage adult data to accelerate approvals.Experts, including Dr. Peter Higgins of…
Iterative Health will showcase five studies at the American College of Gastroenterology 2024, highlighting how machine learning (ML) can enhance endoscopic assessments in IBD, particularly ulcerative colitis. The research demonstrates ML’s potential to improve clinical trial accuracy, link disease severity with EHR data, and support precision medicine.Dr. David Rubin (University of Chicago) and Dr. Vijay Yajnik (Takeda) emphasized the value of ML in refining drug development and advancing real-world care. Iterative Health aims to replace traditional scoring with objective insights, streamlining GI research and driving better patient outcomes.
Guardant Health (Nasdaq: GH) has appointed Roberto A. Mignone, Founder and Managing Partner of Bridger Management, to its board of directors. Mignone brings extensive expertise in healthcare investment and business strategy, enhancing Guardant’s efforts to expand its precision oncology offerings, including its newly FDA-approved colorectal cancer screening product, Shield.Mignone, who co-founded Blue Ridge Capital and serves as co-Vice Chairman at NYU Langone Medical Center, expressed enthusiasm about contributing to Guardant’s mission to improve global cancer care. Guardant Health’s leadership views his strategic insight as key to driving growth and innovation in the company’s products across the continuum of care.
Private equity (PE) investment in healthcare faces significant challenges, including rising labor costs, physician recruitment struggles, regulatory scrutiny, and shrinking reimbursements. Once driven by consolidation opportunities, PE-backed healthcare platforms are now faltering, with high-profile bankruptcies like Envision Healthcare and Steward Health exposing operational risks.Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with nine states requiring pre-approval of healthcare transactions and the FTC scrutinizing large deals. This has slowed M&A activity, making profitable exits difficult and extending PE firms’ hold times beyond five years.To adapt, PE firms must shift toward smaller, regional deals, reduce leverage, and foster physician involvement in operations. While the era of…
Alimetry, a New Zealand-based medtech startup, has developed a noninvasive wearable device that leverages AI to diagnose functional gastric disorders, offering a faster alternative to invasive tests. The device uses a flexible electrode array placed on the stomach to detect weak electrical signals produced by the gut. Cloud-based AI analysis transforms this data into clinical biomarkers, supporting personalized diagnoses for conditions like chronic nausea.After securing $18 million in new funding, Alimetry plans to expand its commercialization efforts, building on a controlled release that began in 2022. The startup’s wearable is already being used by over 30 hospitals across the U.S.,…