As the physician practice environment continues to adapt to near constant market shifts, physician alignment is essential to ensure teams can respond nimbly and cohesively to arising demands and challenges in healthcare.
Two leaders in the physician practice space recently joined Becker’s to discuss the ownership models they see aligning physicians most.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length:
Question: What consolidation or ownership model is most viable for long-term physician alignment?
Boykin Robinson, MD. CEO Core Clinical Partners (Atlanta): Long-term physician alignment is driven less by the specific ownership structure and more by how intentionally that model preserves physician voice and autonomy. Alignment is earned when clinicians are meaningfully involved in decisions that shape how care is delivered: schedule design, workflows, clinical standards, and operational priorities. While financial alignment matters, culture and autonomy often matter more. Research by Tait Shanafelt [MD] has shown that even small increases in physician control over workload and clinical decisions lead to outsized gains in engagement and reductions in burnout. The most viable models are those that recognize alignment is built through trust, shared purpose, and inclusion … not compensation alone.
Steve Sellars. CEO of the Urgent Care Association: In ambulatory care, the models that hold up best over time are physician-led and professionally managed. Physicians need a voice in clinical decisions and local operations, not just an employment contract. Well-designed, joint-venture models work because they let physicians stay focused on care, while the executive leadership handles scale. When physicians feel like true partners instead of hired labor, alignment lasts. Pure roll-ups or fully employed models may look efficient early on, but they often struggle with engagement and retention over time, especially in urgent care, where culture and front-line decision-making really matter.
