Keeping physician voices front and center is a big reason why this large orthopedic organization is rejecting private equity funding.
For Durham, N.C.-based EmergeOrtho which has more than 65 care locations, prioritizing patient care and physician autonomy is worth much more than extra dollars from an outside source.
Allison Farmer, CEO of EmergeOrtho, one of the largest orthopedic practices in the U.S., recently connected with Becker’s about how private equity is changing the landscape of orthopedic care and why they choose to stay independent.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: How have you seen private equity and consolidation impact the orthopedic industry?
Allison Farmer: EmergeOrtho feels very strongly that private equity is not the appropriate ownership structure for our specialty practice. While we are a for-profit business, our day-to-day decisions prioritize patient care as opposed to profits. Our surgeons make decisions based on patient care. We have payment policies that promote patients being able to get the care that they need. We believe our physician leaders and our administration can do just as well as private equity would.
Q: Where does physician autonomy fit into private equity discussions?
AF: We are physician-led and we enjoy physicians making the decisions. We enjoy our physicians being able to make their own schedules, making staffing decisions, making operating hours decisions. We also enjoy the strategies with our hospital partners and our suppliers. At EmergeOrtho, we feel like the influx of private equity money as well as decision making power would really be detrimental to that balance of us having the control of patient care.
Q: How can orthopedic physicians stay in private practice?
AF: We joined other partner practices across the country to form PELTO Health Partners. That is a solution if people are finding themselves having trouble navigating the independent practice space and need help, whether it’s from best practices to purchasing to a benefits platform to administrative consulting. We’ve started PELTO because we realize how tough it is, and wanted to have a solution for people if they’re looking for that help so that they do not have to go to private equity.
