New Study Shows Higher Mortality Risk at For-Profit Dialysis Chains

Patients treated at dialysis clinics run by the largest U.S. for-profit chains have a higher risk of death than patients treated by the biggest nonprofit chain, a study released today in the journal Health Services Research concludes.

The outcome gaps are substantial: Patients at the largest for-profit chain were found to have a 19 percent higher risk of death than patients receiving care at the nonprofit; at the second-largest chain, the risk was 24 percent higher.

"The difference is very significant," said Yi Zhang, who led the study conducted by the Medical Technology & Practice Patterns Institute, a Bethesda nonprofit. "It's not five or seven percent. It's pretty dramatic."

The study also found that patients had a 13 percent lower mortality risk if they were treated at nonprofit clinics, regardless of chain ownership, than if they received care at for-profit clinics.

https://www.propublica.org/article/new-study-shows-higher-mortality-risk-at-in-for-profit-dialysis-chains#