Answering the outcry from private equity firms, a medical society and dermatology leaders, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology removed a peer-reviewed research paper from its website without giving reason, according to a report from The New York Times.
The journal's editor issued a "temporary removal" of the paper after receiving complaints about its accuracy, though the authors maintain there are no errors in the data. The authors told The New York Times the corrections requested were to manage the specialty's reputation. The journal said it asked the authors to remove "identifiable references to influential dermatologists," according to the report.
The paper was published Oct. 5 and removed eight days later. As of Oct. 29, the paper is still removed from the site.
Here are the key findings of the paper, according to The New York Times:
- Private equity firms often acquire dermatology practices that perform high rates of well-reimbursed procedures.
- The paper does not assert if private equity firms are aware the high billing is unusual
- After private equity firms back a dermatology practice, those practices often open or buy pathology labs
- Leaders in the dermatology field are recruited by practices backed by private equity
Read the full story here.
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