About Paragon Health, P.C.’s Group Practice

Our mission

Mission: To provide leadership in the delivery of accessible, high quality, cost-effective health care in Southwest Michigan.

Paragon Health is a group practice of primary and specialty care physicians from throughout the region. The practice is an independent organization, owned and led by physicians.

Our purpose

Paragon Health, P.C. is a multi-specialty Group Practice Without Walls (GPWW). It is a group practice of primary and specialty care physicians from throughout southwest Michigan. The practice is an independent organization, owned and led by physicians.

Composed of physicians practicing in communities throughout southwest Michigan, Paragon Health replaces outdated competitive models with a strategy that accommodates the desire of physician practices to remain independently owned while recognizing interdependence and cooperation. The physicians maintain independence while enjoying the benefits of being part of the larger group for group purchasing, third-party contracting, and administrative services.

Divisions maintain autonomy in day-to-day operations. Each practice is its own cost revenue center, and independently provides patient care and runs its business with respect to staffing, organization, billing, collections and day-to-day decision-making.

The Central office manages Quality Assurance and Utilization Review (QA/UR) program planning, monitoring and enforcing; management support for practices; business activities, including new projects and group contracting; benefits administration; group purchasing; including health and professional liability insurance; and tax compliance and accounting support.

Paragon Health seeks community partnerships with the business community and hospitals, and will work with the health care delivery system to ensure accessible, high quality, cost-effective medicine. Paragon Health does not seek exclusive affiliation with one hospital or payer. The practice has a regional focus.

Managing quality with care

To achieve its mission, Paragon Health, P.C. is providing quality care, accessible to all patients; and cooperating with employers, payers and other providers.

Establishing a Quality Assurance (QA) program is the first step to professional integration. This program must have the means to change the physician’s behavior through education and open dialogue. It also must have the power and authority to enforce the QA guidelines and procedures. These guidelines and procedure must meet national standards. The QA program should be open for outside entity review to affirm its credibility.

A Utilization Review (UR) program goes hand in hand with a QA program. They complement and enforce each other. These programs will be governed and enforced by the group. It is intended to be a substitute for the existing auditing and review program of outside sources. It eventually will eliminate and declare these programs obsolete and unnecessary.