DR. GREGORY TARASIDIS
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For 26 years, Dr. Gregory Tarasidis practiced as an otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon – in Greenwood with a steady hand and an attentive ear. But beyond the exam room, he also tuned into something larger: the far-reaching impact of health policy on the lives of his patients and on the survival of independent practice.
Dr. Tarasidis is part of the South Carolina Medical Association’s proud legacy of change agents — physicians who don’t simply adapt to the healthcare landscape but work to reshape it. As past president of the SCMA and chair of the SCMA delegation to the American Medical Association until December 2025, he has been a tireless advocate for meaningful, patient-centered policy reform at the state and national level.
Dr. Tarasidis started his SCMA journey in 2000, when the late Dr. Richard M. Carter was his mentor.
“He took me to meetings with a quick, ‘Come on let’s go; this is a great way to meet people,’” Dr. Tarasidis said. “Because of him, I considered joining the SCMA a practical matter – the right thing to do that was part of business.”
The fact that the association offered health insurance and malpractice insurance was also a plus for Dr. Tarasidis, especially during his early days in practice.
Dr. Carter certainly launched Dr. Tarasidis’ trajectory, but his mentee’s impressive, steady rise from one leadership role to another confirms some of Dr. Tarasidis’ strongest values: finding common ground in rooms filled with canyons of diverse opinions; remaining committed to causes that ensure quality care for patients and independence of the medical profession.
“By slowly creating relationships, you hope to become the go-to person when a legislator wants to know what a local physician thinks about an issue,” said Dr. Tarasidis. “Meaningful policies that effectively serve patients and physicians may start with a simple exchange of ideas and a shared commitment to the public.”
He added, “We are an educational resource, but we are also voters.”
Dr. Tarasidis has spent years fighting to keep the rudder straight as groups tried to drag important issues toward personal partisanship.
“It’s important to remember that the medical association advocates for legislative issues that are common to all physicians, no matter their political stripes,” said Dr. Tarasidis. “Though legislators want opinions, as representatives, we must remain as neutral personally as possible. I’ve never tried to get the medical association to codify my thinking.”
A collective voice in advocacy, a voice that represents thousands of physicians, carries a lot of weight, he added. “As a physician, if you want to protect the independence of the profession and your ability to have free choice in that profession, the SCMA gives you the tools to help fight.”
Dr. Tarasidis explained, “We want access to care but we can’t have access to care if we can’t keep the doors open. Helping us know the best ways to keep the doors open is what the medical association helped me do over my 26 years of practice.”
Dr. Tarasidis has been affiliated with multiple hospitals in the Greenwood area, including Self Regional Healthcare-Greenwood, Abbeville Area Medical Center, and Surgery Center of The Lakelands. He received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and his otolaryngology training at Washington University.
In addition to hunting and exercise, Dr. Tarasidis cherishes life with his wife, Jamie – a former engineer to whom he gives credit for running their home. Their daughter, Anna, is an OB/GYN, and their son, John, is an engineer with Apple.
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