The Oncology Institute, Inc. (TOI) S-4Registration of securities issued in business combination transactions

Only DFP Stockholders of record at the close of business on [•], 2021 are entitled to notice of the Special Meeting and to vote at the Special Meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the Special Meeting. A complete list of our stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Special Meeting will be available for ten days before the Special Meeting at our principal executive offices for inspection by stockholders during ordinary business hours for any purpose germane to the Special Meeting.

In connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, all of the issued and outstanding shares of DFP Class A Common Stock, including the shares of DFP Class A Common stock issued in the PIPE Investments, will become shares of New TOI Common Stock.

If you have any questions or need assistance voting your common stock, please contact Morrow Sodali LLC, our proxy solicitor, by calling (800) 662-5200, or banks and brokers can call collect at (203) 658-9400, or by emailing DFPH.info@investor.morrowsodali.com. This notice of Special Meeting is and the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the Business Combination will be available at [•].

If we do not consummate an initial business combination by March 13, 2022, we will cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and redeem our Public Shares and liquidate the Trust Account, in which case our Public Stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.

If you were the record holder of DFP Shares as of the record date, you may submit your proxy to vote such shares by mail or at the Special Meeting.

Our organizational structure may become more complex as we improve our operational, financial and management controls, as well as our reporting systems and procedures. We may require significant capital expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources to grow and change in these areas. We must effectively increase our headcount and continue to effectively train and manage our employees. We will be unable to manage our business effectively if we are unable to alleviate the strain on resources caused by growth in a timely and successful manner. If we fail to effectively manage our anticipated growth and change, the quality of our services may suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and reputation and harm our ability to attract and retain patients and employees.

In addition, as we expand our business, it is important that we continue to maintain a high level of patient service and satisfaction. As our patient base continues to grow, through the TOI PCs, we will need to expand our medical, patient services and other personnel, and our network of partners, to provide personalized patient service. If we are not able to continue to provide high quality medical care with high levels of patient satisfaction, our reputation, as well as our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Currently, our accounting and IT controls have numerous deficiencies which we need to address with additional investments in personnel, processes and technology. These deficiencies include material weaknesses surrounding segregation of duties in the financial closing and reporting process, inappropriate application of GAAP, material weaknesses in revenue, lack of reviews and effective off boarding and on boarding procedures, weak password controls, lack of change management procedures or documentation, errors in the reporting of the payroll cycle, and the lack of a formal process for tracking fixed asset disposal and equity grants. If we are unable to remediate our material weaknesses in a timely manner, we may be unable to provide required financial information in a timely and reliable manner and we may incorrectly report financial information. Either of these events could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor, supplier and customer confidence in our reported financial information.

We have incurred net losses on an annual basis since our inception. We incurred net losses of $14.3 million and $4.0 million in 2020 in 2019. We expect our aggregate costs will increase substantially in the foreseeable future and our losses will continue as we expect to invest heavily in increasing our patient base, expanding our operations, hiring additional employees and operating as a public company. These efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. To date, we have financed our operations principally from the sale of our equity, revenue from our patient services and the incurrence of indebtedness. We may not generate positive cash flow from operations or profitability in any given period, and our limited operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate our current business and our future prospects.

We have encountered and will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly changing industries, including increasing expenses as we continue to grow our business. We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly over the next several years as we continue to hire additional personnel, expand our operations and infrastructure, and continue to expand to reach more patients. In addition to the expected costs to grow our business, we also expect to incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses as a newly public company. These investments may be more costly than we expect, and if we do not achieve the benefits anticipated from these investments, or if the

If a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease occurs in the United States or worldwide, our business may be adversely affected. The severity, magnitude and duration of the current COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and rapidly changing. As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may impact our business, results of operations and financial condition remains uncertain. Furthermore, because of our business model, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods.

Adverse market conditions resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially adversely affect our business and the value of New TOI Common Stock. Numerous state and local jurisdictions, including all markets where we operate, have imposed, and others in the future may impose, “shelter-in-place” orders, quarantines, executive orders and similar government orders and restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19. Such orders or restrictions resulted in largely remote operations at our headquarters, work stoppages among some vendors and suppliers, slowdowns and delays, travel restrictions and cancellation of events, among other effects, thereby significantly and negatively impacting our operations. Other disruptions or potential disruptions include restrictions on the ability of our personnel to travel; restrictions on our business development activities due to potential payors or other entities we and the TOI PCs engage with limiting their corresponding business development efforts; inability of our suppliers to manufacture goods and to deliver these to us on a timely basis, or at all; inventory shortages or obsolescence; delays in actions of regulatory bodies; diversion of or limitations on employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the operations of our business, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with groups of people; business adjustments or disruptions of certain third parties; and additional government requirements or other incremental mitigation efforts. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity and spread of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. In addition, the COVID-19 virus disproportionately impacts older adults, especially those with chronic illnesses, which describes many of our patients.

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, distributed funding to healthcare providers to offset the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic related expenses and lost revenues, also known as the Provider Relief Funds. Sources of relief include the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, or the PPPHCE Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, or the CAA. In addition, the CARES Act provides for an expansion of the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program whereby inpatient acute care hospitals and other eligible providers were able to request accelerated payment of up to 100% of their Medicare payment amount for a six-month period to be repaid through withholding of future Medicare fee-for-service payments. Various other state and local programs also exist to provide relief, either independently or through distribution of monies received via the CARES Act. In 2020, together with the TOI PCs, we obtained loans and stimulus funds of $6.0 million and Medicare advances of $2.7 million pursuant to these stimulus measures.

Grants received are subject to the terms and conditions of the program, including that such funds may only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and will only reimburse health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients are not required to repay these funds, provided that they attest to and comply with certain terms and conditions, including not using the funds to reimburse expenses or losses that other sources are obligated to reimburse and fulfill audit and reporting requirements. There can be no assurance as to the total amount of financial and other types of assistance we will receive under the CARES Act, other enacted stimulus legislation, or future measures, if any, and it is difficult to predict the impact of such measures on our operations or how they will affect operations of our competitors. Further, there can be no assurance that the terms of provider relief funding or other programs will not change or be interpreted in ways that affect the TOI PCs’ funding or eligibility to participate or the TOI PCs’ ability to comply with applicable requirements and retain amounts received. HHS’ interpretation of the underlying terms and conditions of such Provider Relief Funds, including auditing and reporting requirements, continues to evolve. Additional guidance or new and amended interpretations of existing guidance on the terms and conditions of Provider Relief Funds may result in changes in our estimate of amounts for which the terms and conditions are reasonably assured of being met, and any such changes may be material. We will continue to monitor compliance by us and the TOI PCs with the terms and conditions of the Provider Relief Funds, including demonstrating that the distributions received have been used for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. If we and the TOI PCs are unable to attest to or comply with current or future terms and conditions our ability to retain some or all of the distributions received may be impacted.

The COVID-19 pandemic could also cause our third-party data center hosting facilities and cloud computing platform providers, which are critical to our infrastructure, to shut down their business, experience security incidents that impact our business, delay or disrupt performance or delivery of services, or experience interference with the supply chain of hardware required by their systems and services, any of which could materially adversely affect our business. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in our employees and those of many of our vendors working from home and conducting work via the internet, and if the network and infrastructure of internet providers becomes overburdened by increased usage or is otherwise unreliable or unavailable, our employees’, and our customers’ and vendors’ employees’, access to the internet to conduct business could be negatively impacted. Limitations on access or disruptions to services or goods provided by or to some of our suppliers and vendors upon which our platform and business operations relies, could interrupt our ability to provide our platform, decrease the productivity of our workforce, and significantly harm our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations.

The extent and continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business will depend on certain developments, including: the duration and spread of the outbreak; government responses to the pandemic; the impact on our customers and our sales cycles; the impact on customer, industry, or employee events; and the effect on our partners and supply chains, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. Because of our business model, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic, or another pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease occurs in the United States or worldwide, adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including but not limited to those relating to cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities, interruptions or delays due to third-parties, or our ability to raise additional capital or generate sufficient cash flows necessary to fulfill our obligations under our existing indebtedness or to expand our operations.

The TOI PCs’ membership remains concentrated in certain geographic areas in the United States. We have clinic locations in four states. As of March 31, 2021, the vast majority of the TOI PC members under capitation agreements were residents of California. In addition, during 2020, greater than 90% of our revenues were generated in California. Unfavorable changes in health care or other benefit costs or reimbursement rates or increased competition in the states in which we operate or any other geographic area where the TOI PCs’ membership becomes concentrated in the future could therefore have a disproportionately adverse effect on our operating results. Additionally, the geographic concentration of a significant portion of the TOI PCs’ membership may make them more vulnerable to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

To increase our revenue, our business strategy is to expand the number of payor contracts entered into by the TOI PCs and clinic locations in our network. In order to support such growth, the TOI PCs must continue to win new contracts and retain or grow existing contracts with payors. We face competition from other oncology providers in the recruitment of potential patients. If the TOI PCs are unable to convince potential payors and patients of the benefits of our value-based system, or if potential or existing payors and patients prefer the care provider model of one of our competitors, we may not be able to effectively implement our growth strategy, which depends on our ability to grow organically and attract new patient referrals and payors for the TOI PCs. In addition, our growth strategy is dependent on payors electing to enter into capitation or other value-based arrangements and selecting the TOI PCs as their oncology provider. The TOI PCs’ inability to obtain new payor agreements and patient referrals and retain existing payors and patients, particularly those under capitation arrangements, would harm our ability to execute our growth strategy and may have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial position.

The reimbursement process is complex and can involve lengthy delays. Although we recognize revenue when the TOI PCs and our affiliated providers provide services to patients, we may from time to time experience delays in receiving the associated capitation payments or, for patients on fee-for-service arrangements, the reimbursement for the service provided. In addition, third-party payors may disallow, in whole or in part, requests for reimbursement based on determinations that the patient is not eligible for

Because we rely on a limited number of payors for a significant portion of the TOI PCs’ revenues, we depend on the creditworthiness of these payors. The payors are subject to a number of risks including reductions in payment rates from governmental programs, higher than expected health care costs and lack of predictability of financial results when entering new lines of business, particularly with high-risk populations. If the financial condition of the TOI PCs’ payor partners declines, our financial results could be impacted. Should one or more of the TOI PCs’ significant payor partners declare bankruptcy, be declared insolvent or otherwise be restricted by state or federal laws or regulation from continuing in some or all of their operations, this could adversely affect our ongoing revenues, the collectability of our accounts receivable, our bad debt reserves and our net income.

Although the TOI PCs have long-term contracts with many payors, these contracts may be terminated before their term expires for various reasons, such as changes in the regulatory landscape and poor performance by the TOI PCs and our affiliated providers, subject to certain conditions. Certain of the payor contracts are terminable immediately upon the occurrence of certain events. Certain of the payor contracts may be terminated immediately by the partner if the TOI PCs lose applicable licenses, go bankrupt, lose its liability insurance or receive an exclusion, suspension or debarment from state or federal government authorities. Additionally, if a payor were to lose applicable licenses, go bankrupt, lose liability insurance, become insolvent, file for bankruptcy or become subject to exclusion, suspension or debarment from state or federal government authorities, the TOI PC’s contract with such payor could in effect be terminated. In addition, certain of the payor contracts may be terminated immediately if a TOI PC becomes insolvent or file for bankruptcy. If any of the contracts with the TOI PCs’ payors is terminated, the TOI PCs may not be able to recover all fees due under the terminated contract, which may adversely affect our operating results.

There is currently significant concentration in the U.S. healthcare industry, and in particular there are a limited number of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, and a limited number of national pharmacy chains. CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts together accounted for approximately 64% of our dispensary revenue in 2020. If the TOI PCs are unable to retain favorable contractual arrangements with PBMs, including any successor PBMs should there be further consolidation of PBMs, the negotiated rates provided by such PBMs may become less competitive, which could have an adverse impact on the TOI PCs’ ability to provide prescription drugs at the capitated rates negotiated with the payors with whom the TOI PCs contract to provide such drugs to patients. This could be exacerbated by further consolidation of PBMs or pharmacy chains. Specifically, PBMs have instituted Direct and Indirect Remuneration , or DIR, fees, which reduce the reimbursement for drugs dispensed by the TOI PCs. The impact of these fees in future is uncertain, and our ability to negotiate with PBMs on DIR fees is limited. If such changes, individually or in the aggregate, are material, they would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The TOI PCs receive a significant portion of revenue directly from Medicare, which accounted for approximately 15% of our Patient Services revenue in 2020. In addition, many private payors base their reimbursement rates on the published Medicare rates or, in the case of Medicare Advantage, are themselves reimbursed by Medicare for the services the TOI PCs provide. As a result, our results of operations are, in part, dependent on government funding levels for Medicare programs, particularly Medicare Advantage programs. Any changes that limit or reduce Medicare Advantage or general Medicare reimbursement levels, such as reductions in or limitations of reimbursement amounts or rates under programs, reductions in funding of programs, expansion of benefits without adequate funding, elimination of coverage for certain benefits, or elimination of coverage for certain individuals or treatments under programs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

The impact of healthcare reform legislation and other changes in the healthcare industry and in healthcare spending is currently unknown, but may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our revenue is dependent on the healthcare industry and could be affected by changes in healthcare spending, reimbursement and policy. The healthcare industry is subject to changing political, regulatory and other influences. By way of example, the ACA, which was enacted in 2010, made major changes in how healthcare is delivered and reimbursed, and it increased access to health insurance benefits to the uninsured and underinsured populations of the United States.

Since its enactment, there have been judicial, executive and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA brought by several states without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, President Biden issued an executive order initiating a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through August 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructed certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare. It is unclear how healthcare reform measures enacted by Congress or implemented by the Biden administration or other challenges to the ACA, if any, will impact the ACA or our business.

Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year, which began in 2013 and will remain in effect through 2030, with the exception of a temporary suspension from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021, unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. New laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which may materially adversely affect consumer demand and affordability for our products and services and, accordingly, the results of our financial operations. Additional changes that may affect our business include the expansion of new programs such as Medicare payment for performance initiatives for physicians under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, or MACRA, which first affected physician payment in 2019. At this time, it is unclear how the introduction of the Medicare quality payment program will impact overall physician reimbursement.

Such changes in the regulatory environment may also result in changes to our payer mix that may affect our operations and revenue. In addition, certain provisions of the ACA authorize voluntary demonstration projects, which include the development of bundling payments for acute, inpatient hospital services, physician services and post-acute services for episodes of hospital care. Further, the ACA may adversely affect payers by increasing medical costs generally, which could have an effect on the industry and potentially impact our business and revenue as payers seek to offset these increases by reducing costs in other areas.

Uncertainty regarding future amendments to the ACA as well as new legislative proposals to reform healthcare and government insurance programs, along with the trend toward managed healthcare in the United States, could result in reduced demand and prices for our services. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments and other third party payers will pay for healthcare products and services, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Healthcare reform is causing some payors to transition from volume to value-based reimbursement models, which can include risk-sharing, bundled payment and other innovative approaches. While these models may provide us with opportunities to provide new or additional services and to participate in incentive-based payment arrangements, there can be no assurance that such new models and approaches will be

CMS, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, or the CMMI, has implemented or has announced plans to implement numerous demonstration models designed to test value-based reimbursement models, some of which are specifically focused on oncology services. For example, in 2016, CMS initiated the Oncology Care Model, or OCM demonstration, which continues into 2022 and provides participating physician practices with performance-based financial incentives that aim to manage or reduce Medicare costs without negatively affecting the efficacy of care. We currently participate in the OCM program. In late 2019, CMS issued a request for information on the Oncology Care First model, a new voluntary model that, if implemented, would build on the Oncology Care Model. While the extent to which these models may impact our business is uncertain and will depend on future developments, such models may materially reduce Medicare reimbursement levels for our services or TOI PCs’ services and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.