Doctors form new venture

FORT MYERS — Hospitalist Group of Southwest Florida, a group of physicians who specialize in hospital care, formed a joint venture with Cogent HMG, the largest privately held hospital-physician company in the country.

The newly formed venture, called Inpatient Specialists of Southwest Florida, has contracted with Lee Memorial Health System to provide physicians to four hospitals.

Terms of the joint venture and the Lee Memorial deal were not disclosed, but the three-year contract is designed to tie physician compensation with patient results and other benchmarks. Officials with Inpatient Specialists say 40% of their compensation will be tied to such benchmarks.