Private Equity-Owned Physician Practices Decreased Access To Retinal Detachment Surgery, 2014-22.

Private equity (PE) firms have increased their ownership stake across health care sectors in the US. PE's focus on short-term profitability may decrease the provision of unprofitable services, reducing access for patients in vulnerable populations. This is a particular concern for certain eye conditions such as retinal detachment, for which access to timely surgery is necessary to prevent irreversible vision loss and for which reimbursement is below cost for the fee-for-service Medicare population.

Physician Turnover Increased In Private Equity-Acquired Physician Practices.

Consolidation of physician practices by private equity (PE) firms has accelerated, raising concerns that PE's emphasis on short-term profitability may exacerbate physician turnover, with implications for care continuity. Despite their significance, evidence on how PE acquisitions affect physician turnover is limited. Using clinician-level data linked to practice acquisition data from the period 2014-21, we used a difference-in-differences design to examine changes to physician employment and turnover after PE acquisition of 200 ophthalmology practices with 1,980 clinicians.

Inclusion of Labor Migrants as a Potential Key Population for HIV: A Nationwide Study from Tajikistan.

Key populations are particularly vulnerable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Nearly half of Tajikistan's gross domestic product (GDP) originates from labor migrant transfers. While not officially designated as a key population, over 300,000 migrants return to Tajikistan every year at increased risk for HIV due to absence or interruption of treatment, change in risky behaviors, and other factors.

Progress in Early Detection of HIV in Tajikistan.

HIV early detection (CD4 counts ≥350 cells/μL) is correlated with higher life expectancy among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Several factors, including physical, cultural, structural, and financial barriers, may limit early detection of HIV. This is a first-of-its-kind study on population-level differences in early detection of HIV across time within Tajikistan and any country in the Central Asia region.