Study Explores Changes in Quality of Care After Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions

Hospitals that are acquired or merged with another hospital or hospital system have worse patient experiences and their readmission and mortality rates remain unchanged, according to an AHRQ-funded study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers followed the performance of 246 hospitals that were acquired or merged between 2009 and 2013. Using Medicare claims and Hospital Compare data, as well as survey results from AHRQ’s Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, researchers tracked hospital performance according to four measures: patient experience, 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions and clinical processes. Compared with 1,986 control hospitals, acquired or merged hospitals had a modest decline in the patient-experience measure but no significant changes in mortality or readmission rates. Researchers said their findings challenge the assumption that hospital mergers improve quality of care. The study was funded via AHRQ’s Comparative Health System Performance Initiative. Access the abstract.