Does UT Tyler deal with private equity shield doctors from malpractice suits?

Michelle Simington shows a photo of her father-in-law Mike Simington before he passed away at 71. By the time he learned he had prostate cancer, it had spread to his bones.Michael Simington wasn’t one to see a doctor. But when the 67-year-old retired welder started having trouble urinating, he knew something was wrong.

That’s when Simington fell through a trapdoor in Texas’ medical malpractice system and found himself facing an unexpected adversary: the University of Texas System. In March 2023, Simington recorded a statement from his bed in the corner of his son’s living room. The frail, sunken man on camera is virtually unrecognizable from the sturdy, foul-mouthed fisherman featured in photographs around the house. He was in unrelenting, teeth-chattering pain as the cancer essentially starved him to death.

UT Health East Texas was created in partnership with UT Tyler Health Science Center, the graduate medical education center in the region. But most of the funding for this acquisition came from the university’s for-profit partner: Ardent Health Services. Ardent invested almost $350 million to buy the ETMC properties and promised $125 million in system improvements.

“These partnerships with academic health centers and nonprofits are relatively new, and they’re playing under the radar,” said Eileen O’Grady, healthcare director at Private Equity Stakeholder Project, an industry watchdog. “It allows a private equity firm to penetrate a market that has historically not been available to PE, and to do so with, I would argue, less financial risk.”In East Texas, Ardent was welcomed in with open arms, heralded as a savior for a health care system on the brink.

“I didn’t realize until I looked into it,” Martin said. “But the way they’ve set up , there’s no way to hold the doctors working here accountable.”Since it launched, UT Health East Texas has expanded far beyond ETMC’s original footprint. Originally, there were 52 physician clinics under its name. Today, it has more than 90.assured patients they could see the “same providers in the same locations with the same telephone numbers.

“There is a growth of the program throughout East Texas,” Hill said. “And so I think all of this has been preparatory and planned. So having the growth of university physicians throughout makes sense.”

Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

9 simple ways to boost your mental health, according to scienceIn a world where there’s not much you can control, these tips are easy and can be put into practice immediately.
Source: NatGeo - 🏆 537. / 51 Read more »

Reproductive Health | Myriad Women's HealthInterested in learning more about Myriad’s reproductive care genetic tests? Fill out the form to get started.
Source: MyrWomensHealth - 🏆 152. / 63 Read more »

Rochester's 'Get It Done' health event offers free HIV testing and health educationRochester, N.Y. — Action for a Better Community/Action Front Center is organizing a health screening event as part of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day,
Source: 13WHAM - 🏆 256. / 63 Read more »

Everything you need to know about cholesterolThe latest science on how blood levels of HDL, LDL and more relate to cardiovascular health.
Source: PopSci - 🏆 298. / 63 Read more »

Professor of Biomedical Data Science (Assistant, Associate, and/or Professor Level) - Portland, Oregon job with Oregon Health and Science UniversityThe Center for Biomedical Data Science (CBDS) at the Knight Cancer Institute (KCI) at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) is searching for multiple tenured or tenure-track faculty positions at all ranks (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and/or Professor) in the area of Biomedical Data Science.
Source: Nature - 🏆 64. / 68 Read more »