The affiliate.

It’s not hard to notice big cancer brands are buying community hospitals and clinics left and right. But does changing the sign on the building really change cancer surgery outcomes? The CMS database analysis comparing outcomes at affiliates versus non-affiliates of US News and World Report’s top-50 cancer hospitals suggests: well, sort of. 90-day mortality was lower at affiliate hospitals, and, interestingly, this gap widened over time as the affiliate pool grew. However, a deeper look at hospital characteristics showed it was the safest hospitals that were being acquired. | Resio, JAMA Oncol 2019