Texas Oncology is owned by the physicians who practice there. The practice is organized as a physician-led Professional Association (P.A.), meaning the individual oncologists treating patients are also the shareholders of the legal entity. McKesson Corporation, often mistaken for the owner, owns a separate management company that handles the business side of the practice. It does not own the medical practice itself.
The Physician-Owned Professional Association
Texas Oncology describes itself as “an independent, physician-led practice.”1Texas Oncology. About Texas Oncology The doctors hold ownership stakes in the P.A., a legal entity designed specifically for licensed professionals. Under Texas law, only licensed physicians can own shares in a medical P.A., and clinical decisions must stay with those physicians rather than any outside business entity.
This structure reflects the Corporate Practice of Medicine doctrine, a longstanding Texas legal principle that prevents corporations and non-physicians from controlling medical judgment. Courts reviewing these arrangements look at whether the physician or the corporation is actually directing patient care. If a business entity starts dictating treatment decisions or functioning as the real employer of doctors, the arrangement crosses the line. The Texas Medical Board can impose administrative penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, with each day counted as a separate offense.2eLaws. 22 Texas Administrative Code 190.16 – Administrative Penalties
The practical result: profit sharing, strategic direction, and clinical protocols remain under the control of the physician-shareholders. A Board of Directors and a President, all drawn from the practicing oncologists who hold shares, govern the practice. Administrative work is handled separately, which is where McKesson and the US Oncology Network come in.
What McKesson Actually Owns
McKesson Corporation is the parent company of The US Oncology Network, not of Texas Oncology. That distinction is the single most important point about Texas Oncology’s ownership. McKesson completed its acquisition of US Oncology Holdings, Inc. at the end of 2010 in a deal valued at approximately $2.16 billion, which included the assumption of about $1.6 billion in outstanding debt.3U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. McKesson to Purchase US Oncology in a Transaction Valued at 2.16 Billion4Reuters. McKesson to Buy US Oncology, Boost Specialty Share
McKesson is a Fortune 500 healthcare company with annual revenues exceeding $350 billion. Its core business is healthcare supply chain management and pharmaceutical distribution. The 2010 acquisition brought US Oncology’s management platform under McKesson’s corporate umbrella, giving affiliated practices access to McKesson’s distribution network and capital resources.
Investors who buy McKesson stock own a piece of the corporation that manages business operations for practices like Texas Oncology. They do not own any part of the medical practice itself. The physician-shareholders of Texas Oncology have no equity relationship with McKesson, and McKesson has no ownership stake in the P.A. The layers exist by design. They keep corporate financial interests separated from clinical decisions, which is what Texas law requires.
How The US Oncology Network Affiliation Works
While the physicians own the practice, they do not run the business side alone. Texas Oncology is affiliated with The US Oncology Network, which describes itself as “the largest independent physician healthcare network” and provides management services to more than 70 oncology practices nationwide. Through this affiliation, the network handles back-office operations such as accounting, human resources, supply chain logistics, and information technology.
The specific arrangement is called a Comprehensive Strategic Alliance (CSA). Under this model, “practices enter into long-term agreements with McKesson to enable the success of the entire practice” while “physicians retain ownership of their practices and control over how they practice.”5The US Oncology Network. Oncology Practice Management Models The fees the practice pays for these services are structured at fair market value to keep the arrangement compliant with federal healthcare regulations.
The network also offers a Joint Venture model for radiation oncology assets, in which a practice and McKesson each own a share of a radiation facility and participate in its financial performance. In every model, physician independence over clinical care is the baseline.5The US Oncology Network. Oncology Practice Management Models
One of the most tangible benefits is access to McKesson’s pharmaceutical distribution infrastructure. McKesson identifies itself as the top distributor of oncology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology products in the country, managing more than 115 limited-distribution drug contracts and supporting over 7,500 community-based specialty providers.6McKesson. Oncology and Specialty Distribution For a practice the size of Texas Oncology, with more than 250 locations across Texas and neighboring states,7Texas Oncology. Texas Oncology that means reliable access to specialty medications at purchasing volumes no standalone practice could match.
What the Ownership Structure Means for Patients
If you are receiving treatment at Texas Oncology, the practical takeaway is simple. Your doctor is also a co-owner of the practice. That physician has a financial stake in the organization’s long-term success, a vote in how it is governed, and legal authority over every clinical decision in your care. McKesson’s involvement keeps the lights on, the drugs stocked, and the billing systems running, but it stops at the exam room door.
The governance structure sits entirely separate from McKesson’s corporate hierarchy. The Board answers to its physician-shareholders, not to McKesson’s executives or public-market investors. If you have ever wondered whether a corporate parent is shaping your treatment plan, Texas law answers the question for you: it is not allowed to, and the ownership structure is built around that rule.