Chris Collins

The UT system's audit committee approved a plan Thursday to form a medical practice for faculty at the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga.

Officials say it will improve medical research and health care in the region as well as strengthen the college itself.

"This will generate some funds for the College of Medicine for the first time," said David Seaberg, dean of the College of Medicine in Chattanooga, who met with University of Tennessee trustees on the UTC campus. "Right now, I have very little research and infrastructure support."

In Chattanooga, faculty with the College of Medicine are considered adjuncts and nearly all are employed as physicians by Erlanger hospital or private clinics. But an outside audit has said the current model could damage the Chattanooga campus in the long run.

When faculty members also work as private doctors, their focus on teaching can dwindle, according to the audit, while practice partnerships with a college of medicine can encourage permanence.

A new practice, which will be a partnership between Erlanger and the College of Medicine, would put faculty under one roof and make training central to its mission, Dr. Seaburg said. The agreement also will elevate Erlanger to an academic medical center, he said.

Nearly all academic medical centers have a medical school, a hospital and a faculty practice, he said.

"This will enhance academic growth," he said. "Everyone will have a teaching, scholarly mission."

The decision to form a medical practice for faculty members at the College of Medicine was triggered by an audit of the UT Medical Group this spring. The audit revealed that the medical practices of the College of Medicine will be at risk financially if it doesn't improve business tasks such as record keeping and partnerships.

The UT Medical Group is the private practice arm of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the UT system's medical school.

"The faculty is fragmented," said Chris Collins, a consultant with ECG Management Consultants, the company that audited the UT Medical Group. "There are multiple tiers of physicians. Some are in Erlanger. Some are in private practice. It is time to look at something different."

More than 100 primary care physicians will work under the College of Medicine medical practice, but Dr. Seaburg said he hopes to grow the practice to more than 200 physicians in the next few years.

Once the practice is set up, clinical dollars will be about 40 percent of the College of Medicine's revenue, he said.

Fast facts about the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga

* The college has 162 residents.

* The college has 150 medical students.

* Nine specialty programs are offered.

* The college is the only one in the system that offers a program in emergency medicine.

Source: UT Board