As they witnessed the formation of an aggressive multi-specialty group practice and swift, significant changes in the managed care industry, three internal medicine practices in Chattanooga, Tennessee, began to wonder if their future was secure. Should they join together in a "group without walls" or some other informal alliance to protect themselves?

Unsure of what to do, they engaged The Tompkins Group to help them evaluate their options. After much education, analysis, and debate, the physicians decided that halfway measures would fail: forming a primary care, multi-specialty group practice was their strongest option.

Over the next six months, The Tompkins Group helped them complete the planning for the new group which involved a merger of seven practices representing three primary care specialties. The new multi-specialty group practice includes thirty-two of the most reputable physicians in the city. Its structure, which allows outside capital investment, was designed to encourage growth at whatever rate is required to succeed in the market.