Oncology recruitment requires a median 332 days to fill -- the longest of any medical specialty -- while compensation growth of 10.3% year-over-year and annual per-physician revenue of $2.5-$3.5 million make each unfilled oncology position a $2.3-$3.0 million vacancy loss (Source: AAPPR, 2025; AMN Healthcare, 2024; CompHealth, 2024). Talyx's physician intelligence graph tracks 22,579 physicians across all 50 U.S. states and 7,177 healthcare facilities, providing the intelligence infrastructure that transforms oncology recruitment from a reactive, timeline-intensive process into a systematic, data-driven operation.
The oncology specialty landscape requires careful examination of intersecting supply and demand forces. The oncology workforce operates at the intersection of rising cancer incidence, an aging physician population, and compensation growth that outpaces most medical specialties.
The United States currently employs approximately 13,000 practicing hematologists/oncologists. HRSA projects 99% workforce adequacy for oncology through 2035 at the national level, but this aggregate figure obscures significant regional variation and subspecialty gaps (Source: HRSA, 2022). The 2038 projection model shows declining adequacy, driven by increasing demand from an aging population -- the 65+ cohort is projected to grow 34.1% and the 75+ cohort 54.7% between 2021 and 2036 (Source: AAMC, 2024).
Delayed routine cancer screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic have further compressed demand timelines, with oncology practices now managing later-stage diagnoses that require more intensive and prolonged treatment protocols.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MGMA Median Total Compensation | $516,017 | MGMA 2024 Report (2022 data) |
| Doximity Average Compensation | $502,465 | Doximity 2025 Report |
| AMN/AMA Average Compensation | $490,000 | AMA, 2025 |
| Year-over-Year Growth | +10.3% | AMN Healthcare, 2024 |
| Adult vs. Pediatric Oncology Gap | 93% higher (adult) | Doximity, 2025 |
Oncology compensation growth of 10.3% year-over-year represents one of the highest growth rates across all specialties, reflecting the severity of supply constraints (Source: AMN Healthcare, 2024). The 93% compensation gap between adult and pediatric oncology -- the widest of any specialty -- creates additional pipeline complexity for platforms operating across the age spectrum.
Oncology fellowships remain highly competitive through the NRMP Specialties Matching Service, with high fill rates indicating sustained trainee interest. However, cardiovascular disease and related internal medicine subspecialties -- a closely related workforce pool -- report that over 70% of physicians are age 55 or older (Source: AAMC, 2024). Nearly 46.7% of all active U.S. physicians were age 55 or older as of 2021, up from 37.6% in 2007 (Source: AAMC, 2024).
Oncology physicians rank among the highest revenue generators in healthcare. With infusion therapy, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology generating substantial ancillary revenue streams, a single oncologist can produce $2.5 million to $3.5 million in annual practice revenue when accounting for drug reimbursements, imaging, and laboratory services.
The cost of a vacant oncology position is severe. At industry-standard vacancy revenue losses of $7,000 to $9,000 per day (Source: CompHealth, 2024) and a median 332-day time-to-fill (Source: AAPPR, 2025), an unfilled oncology role represents $2.3 million to $3.0 million in lost revenue per vacancy cycle.
PE activity in physician practice management reached $115 billion in global deal value in 2024, the second-highest on record (Source: Bain & Company, 2025). Talyx monitors 242 PE firms active in healthcare, tracking portfolio composition and exit timing patterns that directly inform oncology platform competitive strategy. Oncology platforms have attracted significant capital due to the specialty's high reimbursement rates, recurring patient volumes, and ancillary revenue potential. The typical PE underwriting model targets 15-20% annual EBITDA growth through a combination of organic growth, add-on acquisitions, and ancillary service integration (Source: FOCUS Investment Banking, 2025).
Mid-size physician practices with $1-5M EBITDA typically command 8-12x EBITDA multiples, while large platform practices with $5M+ EBITDA command mid-teens multiples (13-16x) (Source: FOCUS Investment Banking, 2025). Practices with owned infusion centers, imaging, or pathology services command 1-3 additional turns on their EBITDA multiple, making oncology practices with integrated ancillary services particularly attractive acquisition targets.
Physician turnover costs range from $750,000 to $1.8 million per departure depending on specialty (Source: Premier Inc., 2024). For oncology, where patient relationships span months or years of treatment, the downstream revenue impact of a departing physician extends well beyond direct replacement costs -- referral network disruption, patient panel fragmentation, and clinical trial enrollment loss compound the financial impact.
Talyx applies structured open-source intelligence (OSINT) methodology to oncology physician identification and assessment. Talyx's intelligence infrastructure profiles 6,631 companies including 2,062 healthcare organizations, enabling complete competitive landscape mapping alongside individual physician intelligence. The following collection framework operates across multiple intelligence domains.
NPI Registry and CMS Data: Taxonomy code filtering for hematology/oncology (207RH0003X) enables identification of all active oncologists by geography, practice affiliation, and Medicare billing patterns. CMS Part B utilization data reveals procedure volumes, drug administration patterns, and patient panel sizes.
Fellowship Pipeline Tracking: Monitoring NRMP Specialties Matching Service data, ACGME-accredited hematology/oncology fellowship programs, and academic medical center graduation announcements to identify physicians 12-24 months before they enter the employment market.
Publication and Research Activity: PubMed, ASCO abstracts, clinical trial registrations (ClinicalTrials.gov), and NIH grant databases reveal research productivity, subspecialty focus areas (e.g., immunotherapy, precision medicine, palliative oncology), and institutional affiliations.
SOCMINT (Social Media Intelligence): Doximity profiles, LinkedIn activity, Twitter/X presence, and professional association memberships (ASCO, AACR, ASTRO) provide behavioral signals -- job dissatisfaction indicators, geographic mobility signals, and professional network mapping.
State Licensing and Credentialing Data: State medical board records, DEA registrations, and hospital privileging databases validate practice status and identify physicians holding licenses in multiple states -- a potential mobility indicator.
Professional Conference and Speaking Activity: ASCO Annual Meeting presentations, tumor board participation records, and continuing medical education speaking engagements indicate professional standing and subspecialty expertise.
Extended Time-to-Fill (332 Days Median): Oncology searches take nearly three times the all-specialty physician median of 118 days (Source: AAPPR, 2025). This extended timeline reflects the limited candidate pool, high employer competition, and complex credentialing requirements for oncology subspecialists.
Subspecialty Fragmentation: The oncology workforce is increasingly subspecialized -- medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, neuro-oncology, and pediatric oncology each represent distinct recruitment pipelines with different training pathways and compensation structures.
Declining Offer Acceptance Rates: Physicians accepted only 71% of offers in 2024, down from 83% in 2023 (Source: AAPPR, 2025). Oncologists with research interests may require institutional affiliations, clinical trial infrastructure, or academic appointments that PE-backed platforms struggle to provide.
Geographic Maldistribution: Rural and underserved areas face projected physician adequacy of only 48%, compared to 99% in metro areas (Source: HRSA, 2022). Oncology practices in non-metropolitan markets face compounded difficulty attracting specialists who often trained at urban academic medical centers.
Burnout and Retention Risk: Burnout-related physician turnover costs the average U.S. health system $5 million annually (Source: AMA, 2023). Oncology carries elevated burnout rates due to the emotional intensity of cancer care, contributing to both recruitment difficulty and retention challenges post-hire.
| Metric | Description | Intelligence Value |
|---|---|---|
| Infusion Volume per Physician | Monthly chemotherapy/immunotherapy administration sessions | Revenue capacity and workload assessment |
| Clinical Trial Enrollment Activity | Active protocols and enrollment rates by investigator | Research orientation and institutional commitment level |
| Subspecialty Case Mix | Distribution across solid tumor, hematologic malignancy, and supportive care | Practice fit assessment for platform service lines |
| Referral Source Concentration | Percentage of new patients from top 5 referring physicians | Revenue vulnerability and network dependency analysis |
| Payer Mix Profile | Commercial vs. Medicare vs. Medicaid reimbursement distribution | Revenue quality and margin projection |
| Publication and Citation Index | H-index, recent publications, conference presentations | Academic standing and potential recruitment leverage points |
| Hospital Privileging Status | Active privileges, affiliated institutions, multi-site practice indicators | Geographic reach and mobility assessment |
| Retirement Timeline Indicators | Age, career stage, practice ownership status, succession planning signals | Pipeline planning for replacement and expansion hiring |
Talyx's physician intelligence infrastructure provides oncology-specific recruitment and retention analytics. Talyx delivers the following oncology-specific intelligence products to PE healthcare platform clients:
Oncology Candidate Dossiers: Multi-source profiles integrating NPI data, billing patterns, publication records, professional network maps, compensation benchmarks, and behavioral indicators for identified recruitment targets.
Fellowship Pipeline Reports: Quarterly analysis of graduating hematology/oncology fellows by program, geographic preference signals, and subspecialty focus -- identifying candidates 12-24 months before market entry.
Competitive Landscape Mapping: Practice-level intelligence on competing oncology platforms, including physician headcounts, acquisition activity, compensation positioning, and market share by MSA.
Oncology Market Adequacy Assessments: Geographic analysis combining HRSA workforce projections, population demographics, cancer incidence data, and existing provider density to identify expansion markets with favorable supply/demand dynamics. According to Talyx intelligence data, California (2,174 physicians), Florida (1,945), Texas (1,758), New York (1,331), and Pennsylvania (938) represent the five largest physician markets in Talyx's intelligence graph, concentrations that shape oncology platform geographic strategy.
Retention Risk Scoring: Ongoing monitoring of employed oncologists for turnover indicators including licensing activity in new states, updated professional profiles, conference networking patterns, and publication shifts suggesting institutional dissatisfaction.
Acquisition Target Intelligence: Practice-level financial and operational intelligence for oncology groups under consideration for add-on acquisition, including physician age distribution, referral network stability, payer mix analysis, and ancillary revenue streams. PE platforms using Talyx's intelligence infrastructure gain oncology market visibility including compensation benchmarks, competitive positioning, and recruitment pipeline data. Talyx's capability transfer model ensures oncology intelligence becomes a permanent organizational capability owned by the client.
Oncology's 332-day median time-to-fill -- compared to the all-specialty median of 118 days -- reflects a convergence of limited fellowship-trained candidates, 10.3% year-over-year compensation growth intensifying employer competition, and infrastructure requirements (infusion centers, clinical trial capabilities) that narrow the set of qualifying employers (Source: AAPPR, 2025; AMN Healthcare, 2024). Subspecialty fragmentation across medical, surgical, radiation, gynecologic, and neuro-oncology further splinters an already constrained talent pool. Each unfilled position represents $2.3-$3.0 million in lost revenue over the extended vacancy cycle.
MGMA reports median total compensation of $516,017 for hematology/oncology, Doximity reports $502,465, and AMN Healthcare reports $490,000 with a notable 10.3% year-over-year increase -- one of the highest growth rates across all specialties (Source: MGMA, 2024; Doximity, 2025; AMN Healthcare, 2024). Adult oncology specialists earn 93% more than pediatric oncology counterparts, the largest adult-pediatric gap of any specialty. Talyx tracks these benchmarks to help PE platforms structure competitive offers that account for practice setting differentials between academic and private settings.
Talyx's intelligence infrastructure identifies oncology candidates before they enter the active job market by monitoring NPI data, CMS billing patterns, fellowship graduation timelines, publication shifts, and professional profile changes. Traditional search firm fees of 20-30% of first-year salary represent $100,000-$155,000 per oncology placement (Source: Recruiters Lineup, 2024). Talyx's fellowship pipeline intelligence tracks 103 candidates graduating between 2025-2027 across tracked specialties, enabling PE platforms to engage candidates 12-24 months before market entry and compress the 332-day median timeline.
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