You practice medicine. We manage the rest.
Zia Rural Physicians Group is a physician-founded management services organization (MSO) providing non-clinical administrative, financial, and operational support to physician-owned practices — so doctors can stay focused on patients, not paperwork.
Built by a physician who knows what practices are up against
Zia Rural Physicians Group LLC was founded in 2019 to support the business side of medicine — particularly for independent, physician-owned practices serving rural and underserved communities, where administrative burden falls hardest.
Today, Zia operates as a management services organization: the back office behind the practice. We take on bookkeeping, payroll, billing support, IT, compliance administration, and the dozens of operational tasks that pull physicians away from patient care — while the practice and its licensed physicians retain complete, exclusive control over all clinical decisions.
Zia is led by Rodney Wayne Sholty, MD — a board-certified physician with more than 30 years of service in emergency and rural medicine — and is part of the same family of companies as APEX Precision Health PLLC.
At a Glance
Non-Clinical Management Services
Comprehensive back-office support for medical practices — delivered professionally, priced at fair market value, and always outside the exam room.
Administrative & Financial
Bookkeeping, accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, payroll processing, tax compliance assistance, cash management, and AP/AR management.
Billing & Collections Support
Claims preparation and submission, non-clinical coding review, collections and appeals, and payer negotiation support — with practice approval on anything clinical.
Human Resources
Recruitment, hiring, training, and management of non-clinical staff; employment policies; benefits administration; and employment-law compliance.
Information Technology
Hardware and software management, IT security, data backup, and website maintenance — safeguarded to HIPAA business-associate standards.
Marketing & Business Development
Marketing strategy development and execution for the practice — always subject to practice approval and healthcare advertising rules.
Facilities & Equipment
Office-space leasing assistance, equipment and supply procurement and maintenance, and utilities management for practice locations.
Legal & Compliance Support
Assistance with regulatory filings, risk management, insurance procurement, and general administrative compliance support — excluding legal advice on clinical matters. Additional non-clinical services available by written agreement at fair market value.
The MSO Model, Done Right
A clear line between business operations and the practice of medicine. That line protects patients, physicians, and the practices we serve.
What Zia Does
- Runs the practice's back office — finance, HR, IT, facilities
- Supports billing, collections, and payer administration
- Handles marketing and business development with practice approval
- Manages regulatory filings and administrative compliance
- Charges cost-based management fees at fair market value
What Zia Never Does
- Practice medicine or deliver patient care
- Make clinical decisions — diagnosis, treatment, or care plans
- Employ or supervise physicians or clinical staff
- Set fees for medical services
- Influence referrals or medical judgment
Client practices and their licensed physicians retain exclusive control over all medical and clinical aspects of their operations, in full compliance with the corporate practice of medicine doctrine.
Compliance Is the Foundation
Every engagement is structured around the regulatory framework that governs healthcare management relationships.
Corporate Practice of Medicine
Engagements structured so licensed physicians — never the MSO — control the practice of medicine.
HIPAA
Zia operates as a HIPAA business associate under executed BAAs, with administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for PHI.
Stark Law & Anti-Kickback
Fees are cost-based and set at fair market value — never tied to the volume or value of referrals or practice revenue.
Written Agreements
Services delivered under formal management services agreements with defined scope, term, and annual fair-market-value review.
A Family of Companies
Zia Rural Physicians Group supports a family of physician-led ventures built on the same principle: medicine without the middleman.
Physician-owned Texas PLLC delivering precision & personalized medicine, secure telemedicine across Texas, and rural hospital staffing. Zia serves as APEX's management services organization.
apexprecisionhealth.com →Physician dive medicals and dive safety, based in Corpus Christi. Dive medical examinations, on-set production medicine, and medical dive escorts — by a doctor who dives.
divewithadoc.com →Physician-directed life care plans built to withstand deposition, Daubert, and trial: comprehensive life care plans, future medical cost projections, plan review & rebuttal, and expert witness testimony — authored by an MD, CLCP.
pinnaclelifecare.com →Let's talk about your practice
Whether you're a physician-owner buried in administration or a practice exploring the MSO model, we're happy to walk through how it works.
Send us a message
Tell us a little about your practice and what support you're looking for.