|
 |
|
AMHP
Newsletter
September 2009
President's Message
Assalamualaikum, We are undoubtly entering into a new phase
as an organization and as we experience rapid change and advancement
within our health professions, we feel it is time for AMHP to reflect
and enhance itself as well. We are currently undergoing an
inclusive process for restructuring and reorganization. We have
hired an independent consulting firm as well as a strong web
development/e-marketing team and are well underway to catalyze this
change. There is a sense of urgency about this work. We must move
ahead as an organization, even as we plan. Over the next few
weeks you will see the AMHP website completely renovated. Please
visit the site and explore all that we have to offer. There
are going to be several new programs we will be implementing that will
benefit our members and we are truly excited for this
opportunity. Find out how you can get involved by visiting www.amhp.us.
Our governance structure will be re-formatted to create
opportunities and allow you to become an active participant in this
effort to revamp. AMHP is focusing its efforts on Policy,
Prevention and Education. Within these parameters we are creating
working groups which will attempt to accomplish these multi-faceted
goals. Each of the working groups will determine ways to solicit
comments from all the AMHP listserve members, and recommend required
changes to the board. There is a great opportunity for you to
become involved in this change. Please contact myself or any of the AMHP Board members for more information and specifics. Sincerely, Faisal Qazi, DOPresident, AMHP | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Support AMHP!
Since
its inception in 2004, the American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP)
has been actively engaged in public health initiatives to better the
health of all Americans.
This year, AMHP has been
involved with its year long Health Affordability Initiative to increase
health care access to individuals across the country. AMHP's
Initiative takes a multi-pronged approach to create awareness at the
local level, and also to have our voices heard with our representatives
at all levels of government. AMHP is collaborating with Families
USA and other organizations across the country to organize grassroots
efforts in our communities to bring about comprehensive health
reform. Recently, AMHP was selected as one of 30 organizations to
offer the Muslim perspective on a health reform conference call with
President Obama, which was heard by nearly 140,000 members of the faith
community.
As a 501 c3 non-profit charitable
organization, AMHP relies solely on the generosity of those who wish to
improve the quality and delivery of health services and increase access
to care. We hope you will support us generously during the blessed
month of Ramadan.
Donate online using the link below or mail checks payable to AMHP to:
1284 S. Vermont Street
Palatine, IL 60067
Make a Donation
|
Free Clinic Profile: Al-Shifa Clinic
 Al-Shifa
clinic was established in 1995 under the aegis of the Islamic Center of
Minnesota (ICM). The ICM provided a single room and under the
leadership of three volunteer physicians, the clinic functioned
onlimited hours with limited resources. Due to various reasons, the
clinic became inactive for extended periods of time until in 2007, we
revamped the physical structure and along with ICM helped rejuvenate
the clinic with fresh ideas and blood.
Eight physicians
(which now has grown to 14) provide the physician volunteer base. We
have also pooled some of our resources with the Ar Rahma clinic (
similar free clinic in the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities) to
establish a network of physician that work in close collaboration.
The
Al- Shifa clinic to date has served over 1200 patients(including the
eye clinic) since 2007. In addition we have been involved in extensive
community education. Periodically seminars are held for general
community, where free dialogue and question/ answer sessions are
encouraged.
The clinic also contracts with Lab Corp to provide subsidized labs and free limited X-rays services.
Tell us, briefly, about your clinic:
Al-Shifa
Clinic is set up to serve the needs of the community surrounding us
with affordable healthcare to all. We perform essential needs for the
community such as health screenings as well as informative seminars.
Patients are not asked to fill out verifications and other paperwork
before services are administrated all because the clinic believes
healthcare should be made available to all no matter what the
circumstances. It is made possible by over 30 volunteer healthcare
professionals catering to the needs of the patients.
How did you get started?
The
clinic was started after Zarina Baber heard questions from Muslim
patients to there physicians of how they could manage their diabetes
while fasting during the month of Ramadan. The idea of a volunteer
clinic came from this grew into what we see today as a free service to
the community.
Who is your target market?
The clinic serves
anyone from refugees and immigrant populations to everyday Americans
who cannot afford adequate healthcare. The clinic also helps local
Islamic school with some nursing needs such as eye examinations.
What is your current project?
Our
projects include mainly to expand our facilities and services to the
community. We would want to make the facility larger and open longer to
accommodate the growing need of the community. Allowing medical
students to rotate at the clinic is also an on-going projects as part
of their medical school education.
How can you be contacted?
The
clinic is open every Sunday between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and is
located in the Al Amal School Building at the Islamic Center of
Minnesota, 1401 Gardena Ave N.E, Fridley MN 55232. Appointments can be
made by contacting Sobia Sarwar 7 days a week at 763-567-9605.
AMHP
Newsletters will feature a Free Clinic profile each month. Please
submit your clinic's information to mqureshi@amhp.us
|
Public Option Plan
Khizer Hussain
American
Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP) strongly endorses a public health
insurance component to the healthcare reform legislation in order to
increase access to health insurance coverage to tens of millions of
Americans who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid and cannot afford
private insurance premiums. At the same time, this option is
estimated to net $150B in savings over the next decade according to the
non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. The
concept of a government-run insurance plan that individuals could buy
was first developed in 2007 by Jacob Hacker of Yale University.
The idea is elegant and has plenty of merits. Public insurance
would be a stable and portable as it is not tied to employment and
backed by the federal government. Since the program would have a
large number of insured lives, it would have the heft to negotiate
favorable rates much better than those afforded to individual
purchasers. The size of the insured pool also helps to spread
risks and thereby lower premiums. The insurance premiums have
gone up by 120-140% over the last few yeas, with maximal increase seen
within the last decade. What's
more, the public insurance scheme, would have much lower administrative
costs than those exhibited by the private insurance industry that are
often as high as 12-30%. Add to this the fact that individual
physician offices and hospitals expend much more in time and resource
to pre-authorization, processing and denial claims management of
private insurance. Medical Groups, it is estimated, have 0.67
non-clinical full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff working on billing and
insurance functions per FTE physician and up to 10% of revenue
dedicated towards these essentials, often involving redundant filings
and re-billing creating a huge wasteful expenditure in the system.Some
argue that cooperatives can have the same effect as public insurance
without having government further involved in the process. Co-ops
are not a viable alternative. Co-ops are insurance collectives
that are regional with small market shares and thus unable to spread
risks and negotiate optimal rates with providers, pharmaceutical and
medical device companies, and hospitals. They have not had
significant success to date in controlling costs and improving access
and seem to be peddled by the insurance industry as a more palatable
(read: weak competitor) to public insurance. (Khizer Hussain is a leading member of AMHP's Task Force of Health Affordability - see his profile above).
| |
|
|
|
United We Serve
President
Obama called for a national month of service and the Muslim community
responded. He asked for communities to engage in public service
programs leading up to the 9/11 memorial, the last stretch of which has
been designated as interfaith week involving collaborative projects
between various faiths. The Muslim organizers subsequently launched the
Muslim Answer the Call Campaign, headed by Sr. Dalia Mogahed.
Learn More
|
AMHP at Humanitarian Day
(Ontario, California) Humanitarian Day, a day dedicated to serve the homeless, was a tremendous success this past Saturday.
Despite
the overwhelming heat and long weekend, over fifty volunteers dedicated
their time and energy towards serving the homeless at the Mercy House,
a homeless shelter located in Ontario, CA.
Learn More
|
August Initiative
The
American Muslim Health Professional (AMHP) launched a grassroots effort
in late July to take advantage of congressional recess and mobilizing
our community to engage the Public officials and articulate need for
health reform. The program utilized the resources of several of
our partner groups such as Families USA and Faithful for Reform
coalition, as well as developing a working relationship with like
minded groups such as Asian &Pacific Islander American Health Forum
(APIAHF).
Learn More
|
|
August Initiative Advocacy Testimonials
Thanks for the amazing opportunity (meet Senator Boxer's office)
yesterday. It was an awesome experience and I learned a lot from
it. Attending the meeting and learning firsthand the work done by
AMHP was refreshing and gave me perspectives into my own future
direction.
~Affan Shaikh, Los Angeles, CA
It was an awesome
experience (meeting Congresswoman Miller's office) and I learned a lot
from it. Attending that meeting was an extension of the amazing work
done by AMHP in DC and has helped me greatly by shaping the future I
will inshAllah pursue. I'd love to continue to help out in any
way I can and being as closely involved in AMHP's work.
~Najma Khatri, Detroit, MI
|
Member Profile:
Khizer Husain
Mr.
Khizer Husain currently serves on AMHP's Task Force on Health
Affordability. Mr. Husain is an international healthcare
management consultant who has worked with charitable organizations,
hospitals and medical device companies in the United States and abroad.
His work has involved orchestrating the launch of new products,
removing operational and financial bottlenecks, strategic planning, and
shaping health policy. As a Fulbright Scholar, he attended the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of
Economics and Political Science for a Masters degree in international
health policy.
|
Business Profile:
Synche Business Solutions
CEO - Athar Mirza
Tell us, briefly, about your business:
We
are a healthcare strategy consulting firm who offer a variety of
business related services to those in the healthcare industry.
With the ability to offer operational analysis, marketing and finance
we work to grow your business.
How did you get started?
A
group of classmates from my MBA program felt we had the necessary tools
and skill set to thrive in this market. Also, there aren't many
consulting firms doing work with free health clinics.
Who is your target market?
Anyone
in the healthcare industry. We are looking to put together a
billing workshop to show office managers how to optimize the return on
their business. We can also develop tools and resources to get
you're practice up and running, efficiently.
What is you current project?
We
are working with free health clinics throughout the nation by offering
them pro bono consulting services. This includes marketing,
operations, website design and development, cost & budget
management as well as grant writing review.
How can you be contacted?
I can be reached via email at Athar.Mirza@gmx.com
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
