Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health reportedly ended a nearly 40-year contract agreement with Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants, a roughly 100-member physician group in Charlotte, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Here are five things to know about the contract negotiations.
1. Memos obtained by The Charlotte Observer reportedly indicate SAC's contract with Atrium will be terminated June 30, after which Charlotte-based Scope Anesthesia of North Carolina will begin providing anesthesiology services at the health system's 900-plus care locations.
2. Atrium officials said in a memo to employees the health system has developed an improved model for providing anesthesiology services that would reduce patient costs while maintaining safe, high-quality care. Officials said during discussions SAC did not offer to fully implement the model, according to the report.
3. SAC physicians will also no longer be able to work at Atrium facilities as part of Scope or any other provider once their contracts are officially terminated, the report states.
4. However, some SAC physicians claim Atrium's decision to end their contracts is not in the patients' best interests. One SAC physician wrote in a letter last month to Charlotte Mayor pro tem Julie Eiselt that Atrium's decision "puts our community members at risk," and that SAC "believe[s] that the community should know about this, and that they should be able to weigh in on the decision," according to The Charlotte Observer.
5. A spokesperson for SAC said negotiations between the medical group and Atrium are still ongoing.
To access The Charlotte Observer report, click here.