Two orthopedic partnerships in the first months of 2023 present alternatives to private equity investment.
Chicago-based Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and Rockford-based OrthoIllinois aggregated in January. While the arrangement isn't a merger, aggregating allows both practices to remain autonomous while strengthening their position in the market.
"First, we placed a premium on maintaining our independence," Brian Cole, MD, MBA, managing partner at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, told Becker's. "Second, we realized in our exercise with private equity that there was still a lot of value we could create ourselves. We took a different pathway to maintain our independence and create value."
In February, three orthopedic groups came together to form PELTO Health Partners. PELTO, which stands for Physician Empowered Leadership of Transformational Organizations, comprises Durham, N.C.-based EmergeOrtho, Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy and Seattle-based Proliance Surgeons and has more than 400 physicians. Groups with PELTO will maintain their independence, and the platform isn't relying on capital from external sources.
"PELTO doesn't distract from patient care or clinical autonomy," John Pryor, MD, Proliance Surgeons' president and PELTO board member said in a news release. "We offer best practice solutions to independent providers who choose to take advantage of the platform. At the heart of this collaboration lies innovative strategies to preserve our most important partnership — between each doctor and patient."