Dr. Anthony Benedetto, the first doctor in Pennsylvania to perform Mohs surgery to treat different types of skin cancer, has joined his Drexel Hill practice with Berks County-based Dermatology Partners.

Dr. Benedetto had his practice for nearly 40 years, opening the Drexel Hill office in 1992. His practice now joins one of the fastest growing dermatology networks, writes John George for Philadelphia Business Journal.

The practice joins a network of more than 30 clinics in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

Dr. Benedetto said it took several years to make the decision to sell his private practice.

“I talked to six or seven groups. I was real close with a couple, but they were private equity-[backed] and I was very resistant to their approach.”

Private equity firms aggressively buy practices as an investment, then sell them to other firms, and the emphasis is often on the bottom line instead of patient care, he said.

Dermatology Partners is privately owned and physician-led founded in Birdsboro in 2012.

Benedetto said Dermatology Partners is aligned with his approach to “personalized and compassionate” care.

Read more about Dr. Anthony Benedetto and about the events that eventually led to his decision to sell n the Philadelphia Business Journal.