More local doctors seek to defect from major health system

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seven doctors from CaroMont Medical Group filed a complaint on Thursday to separate from the Gastonia-based system. The group is planning to join Tryon Medical Partners, a Charlotte-based independent practice.

The seven doctors see patients at South Point Family Practice in Belmont and specialize in adult medicine, pediatrics and urgent care. As part of Tryon Medical, they would continue to practice in Gaston County.

In the complaint, the doctors stated that they believe joining a smaller, independent practice will allow them to better serve patients.

“I think they were struggling with the bureaucracy and didn’t see a method within the system to improve what they felt like were the goals to improve,” said Dr. Dale Owen, head of Tryon Medical.

CaroMont contends, however, that leaving the practice would violate the doctors’ contracts, which state that the “physician shall not assist a competing system at any location within the restricted territory.”

Cox Media Group