Anesthesiologists are indispensable in the operating room, but private equity investors are making it harder for patients to afford our care.We are the referees of the operating room. We are necessary for surgery, but you probably won’t remember our names when it’s over. That is life as an anesthesiologist. Just as it is for referees in stadiums across America, the surgeon is the star of the show and the reason you enter the building.
Frequently, we meet our patients for the first time immediately before surgery. After a brief exchange, we whisk them away to the operating room where our perfectly titrated cocktail of medications will make it so their next memory will be awakening in the recovery room. After surgery, our presence will be forgotten and our heroics never spoken of again. Despite our anonymity, we are required for a functioning operating room.
While there is no easy way to divorce private equity from health care, there are steps that can be taken to ensure patient care is not sacrificed for profits. First, health care systems and medical groups should have physician leadership. Venture capitalists should never drive health care decisions, prices or access. Next, we deserve transparency in who employs our physicians. Many patients would hesitate if they knew that their doctor had to answer to shareholders.
With deep pockets and a detailed playbook, private equity has the potential to wield massive control over how health care is administered, who it is administered to and how much it costs. If this happens, our wallets, and our lives, will be under their control. The best way to influence the outcome of any game is to control the referees. Private equity firms know this and so should you.
Kirk R. Jackson is assistant professor for the Department of Anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.