Oncologist-hospital alignment models built to compensate oncologists fairly.

Reimbursement for services is down; practice overhead is up; community oncologist take-home income continues to erode-that is a common scenario today. No wonder community oncologists are interested in exploring alignment relationships with hospitals and academic medical centers. It can actually work too: fragmented services can be consolidated; oncologist incomes can be stabilized; communities can be better served. But what can oncologists entering into these relationships expect to be paid for their professional contribution? This article describes approaches to structuring an oncologist-hospital alignment relationship and compensation methodologies applicable to each.