Some American hospitals prioritize institutional loyalty and business competition over patient care. Recently, the family of a patient was awarded $45M against the Orlando Health system over a fatal heart attack transfer delay. It shows the increasing issue with hospital networks' delay and the implications of prioritizing the system over patient care. Patients deserve care based on urgency, not profit and system priorities. Thus, reforms that limit in-network influence over hospital operations are necessary. According to a study, approximately 47% of U.S. metro areas are dominated by one to two hospital systems. In Florida, two hospital systems reign supreme, following this limiting healthcare trend. With specific hospital systems dominating patient care, patients are often limited to what these systems offer. In such cases, patients won’t have the best care they need and are entitled to.

Money is the root of all evil The current American healthcare system has enormous costs, uneven access, and misdirected investments. It is a cruel system that prioritizes patients’ ability to pay expenses over the urgency of care needed.

Research also shows private equity-owned facilities are linked to worse outcomes and higher costs. According to a new Harvard study, patients in hospitals acquired by private equity are 25.4% more likely to get new infections and other hospital-acquired conditions, suggesting poor inpatient care.

Regulate private equity ownership Hospitals owned by private equity are associated with increased hospital-acquired adverse events and are connected to low-quality patient care. Regulating ownership of corporations and private equity in hospitals can address this issue.

A state and federal review to assess the acquisitions of the private equity firms can help, along with a new policy framework for private equity. Recently, Song and Cai from Brigham and Women’s Hospital outlined a policy framework that discusses private equity owning hospitals and the protection against inflated prices, regulating fraud and abuse, and encouraging transparency in reporting private equity acquisitions. Establishing this framework can protect societal and patient resources from private equity negotiations.

Transparency in acquisition and hospitals’ transfer decisions In hospital acquisitions, the rule is to report deals over $111.4 million, hiding much more information in the transaction. Transparency of these deals can uncover the mystery in these transactions. It further provides a better understanding of the implications of private equity acquisitions of healthcare facilities.

Government agencies also need to thoroughly review the transfer decisions of hospitals, causing delays in patient care. Hospital transfers must be based on stabilization and shift, which focuses on ensuring the patient is stable in the transferring facility and that the care can be continued in the receiving facility. Disclosing reasons for hospital transfers and possible delays can unveil management issues that must be addressed.

Ban system-centered hospital regulations

Policies and regulations prioritizing in-network benefits over patient care must be banned. Hospitals should have emergency plans considering all nearby healthcare facilities, regardless of who owns them, and when they are best equipped to provide necessary care. In addition to that, payments encouraging keeping patients in-network should also be discarded.

Patients deserve care based on urgency, not profit. No patient should ever fear the possibility of hospitals prioritizing business rivalry over their care and treatment. No family should be subjected to the grief of losing a loved one due to a delay in transfer that could have saved their life.

And while these measures won’t revamp the entire healthcare system to the fullest, they’re good starting points for possible changes in the value of care patients receive from hospitals.

About the author: Attorney Sean M. Cleary and his legal team handle complex and catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida and many other states.