Christoph I Lee, Melissa A Davis, Frank J Lexa, Joshua M Liao
Christoph I Lee 1, Melissa A Davis 2, Frank J Lexa 3, Joshua M Liao
Private equity investment in radiology practices has grown rapidly over the last decade, with acquisitions of medium to large private practices leading to national radiology practices owned and operated by private equity. In theory, private equity can promote new investments in technology, more subspecialty imaging care, greater financial stability in uncertain times (eg, COVID-19 pandemic), lower administrative overhead costs, and greater purchasing power [ 1 ]. However, possible drawbacks to private equity investment in radiology include a greater focus on imaging volume and short-term profit generation, which could threaten quality of care, radiologist well-being, and cost efficiency. In this JACR Health Policy Expert Panel article, three health policy experts in radiology discuss the positive and negative consequences of greater private equity involvement in radiology practices and what radiologists and the specialty can do to capture the positive changes while mitigating the negative changes.