Gastroenterology Going Corporate
We are in weird times in healthcare. We know Big Pharma, PBMs, and Insurers are all evil. Not to be outdone, corporate medicine has become a thing and it sucks almost as much. Maybe more. Check this article out about betting on the “Golden Age” of colonoscopies. In fact, here is a quote from the piece:
“We are in the Golden Age of older rectums,” one investment manager wrote in 2017.
These sound like really caring people, don’t they?
Did you know that “In 2021, the number of private equity acquisitions of gastroenterology practices grew by 28% over the previous year, according to Spherix Global Insights and Fraser Healthcare.”
These corporations want their money. It’s pretty close to the “F#ck you, pay me” scene from Goodfellas. (RIP Ray Liotta). See the video above.
The only way these bastards could make this worse is to make these GI Centers drive-thru. Then they could buy up Taco Bell franchises and put them right near them. In that way, the patients could use their fast food instead of Go Lightly. It’s called synergy. Look it up.
My mentally handicapped son had rectal bleeding 3 years ago when he was 26 years old and I was able to get him into the clinic I worked at. Yeah, I referred a butt load of patients before I retired who needed screening and such so when I called the doc directly and explained the situation he got in right away. My son was great at the colonoscopy and the gentle talk of the anesthetists really calmed him. The scope showed it was just lower irritation and I just had to start ragging him about, “Don’t pick at your butt Dammit!” That worked to a degree. Kurt
It’s unethical and against professional standards for a law firm to be owned by venture capital. Physicians and the AMA have no such scruples.
Lower ethical standards than lawyers – that’s quite an accomplishment.
Same with noncompetes. A noncompete in a lawyer employment contract is considered unethical by every Bar Association in the country.
A lawyer with an interest in medical business once remarked to me, say what you want about lawyers. When it comes to masty, petty, vindictive, just plain unethical behavior, one professional to another, there is NOTHING worse than physicians.
As he said, he knew this for a fact, as he made his career cleaning up the messes physicians create for themselves with this behavior.
It would be nice if physicians raised their ethical standards up to the standard of lawyers.
Sent a patient to a diagnostic imaging center, which is no longer locally or even regionally owned, it’s a national company in turn owned by a venture capital firm.
Lumbar spine x-rays, low back pain.
Patient came back with an X-ray report,…….AND a “consult” by a Nurse Practitioner, with prescriptions and a referral to Physical Therapy.
Their fig leaf was my blanket permission to do what they felt necessary, was permission to do the consultation and all that. For thirty years, that blanket permision meant they could order an extra view, or an ultrasound study, etc., as needed to get an adequate picture of the disease process in question. NOT to do the operation.
All this was remarkably coincident with the imaging practice getting bought by the investment venture capital firm.
The courts will say it’s not a monopoly because there’s another GI practice three counties over.
Then if two docs are eating lunch and one doc says United Health Care pays poorly, the other doc agrees, it’s an antitrust charge.
Just had a “diagnostic” colonoscopy. 2 negative Cologuard (over 6 years) and 1 positive FIT test (recent) made it a diagnostic exam.
Cost me $2800.00 out of pocket even with what is considered “good” insurance. Lots of profit here.
Yup,
Sucks to the n’th degree. Try and take care of yourself and the insurance companies still try to E’fffffff us and our patients. So glad I’m retired and don’t have to fill out any bull-sh!t forms anymore. You know what I mean. Kurt Savegnago
My local area had two large gi groups. Good competition. Last year both were bought by the same group. It’s a local monopoly for sure.