Local physicians gathered Tuesday to hear a national healthcare policy expert speak about how the recently passed healthcare reform legislation will affect their practices here.

Congress has been shifting its philosophy from care based on volume to a system of care based on collaboration, said Chet Speed, vice president of public policy of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). Congress will provide incentives for coordinated group practices, he said. “We think there will be increased cooperation with group practices and hospitals to integrate,” he said.

Wilmington Health Associates hosted the talk, which they used as a platform to reach out to potential collaborators, said Jeff James, CEO of Wilmington Health Associates. Wilmington Health Associates is the largest local physicians’ group with 74 physicians. “We’re interested in true integration. We want to find people who share in our vision of improving cost (effectiveness), quality, and patient satisfaction,” he said.

WHA’s conversations with New Hanover Regional Medical Center about collaborating have been favorable thus far, he said. However, “integration does not mean merging practices,” said Dr. Jonathan Hines, WHA board president.

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are the patient-focused collaborative model of healthcare that was written into the new legislation. The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) developed the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) provision in the law per Congress’ request, Speed said. The goals of ACO’s collaborative model is to provide more care to more people, improve care, lower costs and increase patient satisfaction.

According to a 2009 report by legislative group, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to Congress: “The defining characteristic of an ACO is that a set of physicians and hospitals accept joint responsibility for the quality of care and the cost of care received by the ACO’s panel of patients.”

Although many details about how an ACO will operate have not been determined yet, it will be required to have a central governance and to manage and coordinate the care of at least 5,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, Speed said.

AMGA will host eight regional meetings to figure out how ACOs will work and to develop regulations. The southern regional meeting will be hosted by Cornerstone Healthcare in High Point, N.C., on April 22-23.

Meanwhile, WHA’s goals are to eliminate fragmentation of care, avoid testing duplication, share information, improve transitions to care and share best practices, Hines said. They also aim to provide more transparency by sharing their quality measures with their patients, he said.

“Clinical integration will enable physicians to take part in the change and to lead the change,” Hines said.