Here are six private equity updates since Oct. 6 ASC leaders need to know:
- Private equity groups invested about $1 trillion into nearly 8,000 healthcare transactions in the past decade, according to a recent report. Some experts are pushing for more scrutiny of its increasing influence on the industry amid concern it may be causing higher medical bills and diminished quality of care.
- Global healthcare company Novartis is in the early stages of preparing to sell its ophthalmology business. The sale of the ophthalmology business alone could earn the company around $5 billion, and private equity firms are already studying the business.
- Private equity-backed Vision Integrated Partners, a managed services organization, expanded its Kansas network with the addition of three ophthalmology practices.
- Private-equity backed Unifeye Vision Partners added Eye Care of San Diego in Mission Hills, Calif., to its network, its ninth partnership in the state and 13th overall.
- Four anesthesia groups in Illinois, Kansas and Michigan partnered to form the Association for Independent Medicine. AIM intends to support independent, physician-owned medical practices in a climate that's seeing more private equity takeovers.
- Eye care pharmaceutical company Harrow sold its non-ophthalmic compounding business to Innovation Compounding Pharmacy, an affiliate of Revelation Pharma Corporation.