Many orthopedic and spine practices have weighed the decision of either taking private equity investment to support themselves or seeking other avenues to remain independent.
Here's what two leaders have told Becker's on why they chose the second path:
Frank Aluisio, MD. Physician president of EmergeOrtho (Durham, N.C.): If private equity becomes involved, then you're giving away a great deal of your independence. We feel that we're an excellent platform to help other independent groups that need help but do not want to go the private equity route. Going forward, we want PE to be synonymous with 'physician empowered' and not 'private equity.'
Eric Freeman, DO. Founder and Medical Director of Redefine Healthcare (Union, N.J): What we found is that private equity doesn't know the business better than you do. I have numerous examples of colleagues of mine that went into private equity, and some of their practices don't exist today. You have to be able to assess these opportunities with private equity and look at them closely. But overall, nobody knows the practice or runs the practice better than you do. You have to have your strong team in place, and that will allow you to make the best decision for you. We have found that currently our best decision has been to stay independent.