Dr. Valerie Parisi, dean of Wayne State’s School of Medicine, addresses the crowd. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite Studios

The dean of Wayne State University’s School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Parisi, was the keynote speaker for the National Arab American Medical Association Michigan chapter’s annual gala at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn on Nov. 13. Her lecture’s focus was Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and their significance on the transformation into health care reform.

Although regulations for the ACO haven’t been written the Center for Medicare and Medicaid define an ACO as an organization of health care providers that need to be accountable for the quality, cost and the overall care of Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in the traditional fee per service program and assigned to it. Parisi says assigned refers to the beneficiary’s professionals at the ACO who provide the bulk of primary care services.

A beneficiary may continue to seek services from the physicians and other providers of their choice whether or not the physician or provider is a part of an ACO. Parisi says in order for ACO to succeed in the current fee for service environment the patient centered medical home will be recognized as the model that has the greatest potential to link enrollees to the ACO  and to improve outcomes.

She stressed that an ACO involves more than just signing papers, having physicians engaged and holding meetings.  “This is a serious seat change in the way that we’re currently working. It will involve lots of technology and a patient center medical home for everybody and showing a series of outcomes moving forward,” Parisi said.  

Physicians can become successful in ACO with an engaged medical staff, leadership, ability to create and administer value based financial incentives, maintaining accountability for the patient’s life and developing new program initiatives to take on problems to have effective outcomes, according to Parisi.

She says capitation models from the 1980s differ from ACO because the ACO focus is on clinical integration, while capitation was a different form of reimbursement.

Clinical integration is a program of initiatives developed and managed by physicians to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. It is expected to produce more cost effective care and improve outcomes.

According to Parisi physicians will be paid for performance and not for volume anymore.  “So the old model is really going to change. We must serve more people at a lower cost per capita then we have now. True clinical integration is really a journey and not just a destination, it’s getting there as they say, is half the fun,” Parisi said.

NAAMA 2011 president-elect Ghabi A. Kaspo said the challenges with healthcare reform are very few. “My personal opinion is it’s positive,” he said. Former NAAMA president Wassim M. Younes, M.D. says adopting the concept of ACO and physicians aligning themselves with the hospitals in order to become more efficient and productive with the new model is one of the biggest challenges physicians will face with healthcare reform.  “I think that the nation is trying to contain the cost of health care, and I think that the direction that we’re taking is a must,” Younes said.

Awards were given to Parisi and Dr. Marwan Abouljoud who was honored with distinguished physician of the year award. NAAMA administrative assistant Haidar Younes was also awarded. Incumbent NAAMA president Dr. George Y. Zureikat said NAAMA has continued to expand membership to include physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and medical and dental students. “I feel we have made measurable growth in our organization in accordance to the NAAMA mission,” Zureikat said.

Dr. Kaspo said NAAMA is targeting dentists and dental students in Michigan. He says NAAMA will establish closer ties with U of D Mercy School of dentistry, U of M School of Medicine and Dentistry and Michigan State University, School of Orthopedic Medicine.  “I will work on planting the seeds of organized medicine and dentistry in the first year and following the students, our future members, throughout their years of schooling,” Kaspo said. 

Abouljoud says it’s humbling and a privilege to receive an award from NAAMA.  In his speech at the gala he recalled his journey to the United States saying he came to the U.S. with only $500 in his pocket.  After that everything was an opportunity Abouljoud said. “A challenge is an opportunity, and a disaster is another opportunity to fix something,” he said. He believes the biggest accomplishment someone can earn is learning to understand themselves better and use that knowledge to improve their life and relationships in and outside work.  “It’s all about team work and respect,” he said.