Tom Kim, Chief Medical Officer at Sound Long-Term Care Management, discusses the role of accountable care organizations, ACOs, in improving healthcare for the long-term care population. The unique complexities and challenges of these patients include multiple medical conditions, frequent hospitalizations, and fragmented care. By using predictive analytics, telemedicine, and value-based care principles to deliver more coordinated care, patients are avoiding hospitalizations, receiving higher-quality care, and experiencing reduced costs.

Tom explains, "So, in essence, an accountable care organization (ACO) is a group of healthcare providers that come together with a commitment to Medicare to improve the quality of care for the Medicare beneficiaries they serve and to decrease the cost of care for that population. And it's a way to really better coordinate care for those residents or for those Medicare beneficiaries to really receive the best outcome possible."

"Yes, so in the fee-for-service world, there is a lot of focus, at least from a provider standpoint, on volume. So you're really focused on seeing as many patients as you can. In a value-based care model, we're really moving away from the volume model toward one focused more on quality. So, instead of being rewarded for high volume, you're being rewarded as a provider for the quality of care you provide. And not only is this beneficial to the provider, but it's also beneficial to the patients. So, there's having more time with their provider, receiving better care, and hopefully avoiding unnecessary or avoidable care. And so it's really a win across the board, from both a provider and a patient standpoint."

"Our patient population tends to be more complex with more medical problems. They tend to be hospitalized more often. They tend to rely on others to make healthcare decisions and closer to the end of life. And so, care is really different from those who are still living at home and in the community. And on top of that, in terms of the long-term care space, and why it's so challenging is that you just kind of mentioned it a little bit, is that the population is aging."

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