February 3, 2025

An accountable investment: How Sound’s ACO delivers on care and savings

By: Tom Kim, MD, MMM, FHM | Chief Medical Officer | Sound Long-Term Care Management 

Looking back at the first year of our accountable care organization (ACO), we’re proud to celebrate remarkable achievements, transformative care, and meaningful partnerships, all of which benefitted the patients we serve, some of the most vulnerable in the healthcare system — residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities. During our inaugural performance year, Sound Long-Term Care Management (SLTCM) helped our provider and facility partners decrease patient emergency department (ED) visits by 8 percent, ED-to-hospital admissions by 9.4 percent, and short-term hospitalizations by 10.9 percent. These incredible improvements in care helped SLTCM and our partners achieve $22.9M total shared savings, resulting in several impressive placements for SLTCM: top 6 percent of shared savings for first-year ACOs, top 10 percent in total shared savings, and fifth nationally for per beneficiary per year savings (PBPY).  

As the new year kicks off, we’re reflecting on what was obviously more than beginner’s luck. So, how did we get here? We built our ACO to support the highest quality care for patients at the lowest possible risk for our partners. This intentionality manifests through the SLTCM difference: experienced physician leadership, data-driven clinical strategies, and exceptional care that improves the lives of vulnerable patients without compromising costs.  

Difference 1: We’re led by physicians

A cornerstone of SLTCM is its physician leadership. Born out of Sound Physicians, the largest hospitalist group in the nation, our ACO carries a 23-year history of clinical credibility and value-based care experience. As practiced internal medicine physicians, my colleague Dr. Sandeep Yadavalli, SLTCM’s associate chief medical officer, and I have the privilege of using our clinical expertise to guide and support our provider and facility partners in transforming care for patients in long-term settings. The focus and compassion I could only bring to one patient at a time now benefits thousands of at-risk individuals. It is truly an honor to lead this ACO.  

Difference 2: Data drives our protocols

When providers or facilities partner with us, they get precisely that: a partner. Long-term care and assisted living facilities track countless data points every day, and it’s SLTCM’s responsibility to take that complex data and turn it into actionable protocols. Rather than pushing large amounts of data to providers and going radio silent, we simplify that complex data and present it back to our partners as tangible suggestions.  

After creating and implementing data-driven protocols, consistent check-ins with care teams are imperative. Every two weeks, we meet with partner leaders to hear how key initiatives are impacting long-term patients and their care. Intentional connection and thought partnership keep these strategies sustainable and help build meaningful care relationships with those who choose to partner with SLTCM.  

Difference 3: We channel technology empower care

Long-term and assisted-living residents are among the highest-risk and highest-acuity patients within the U.S. These individuals face an average 35 percent mortality rate and experience serious diseases like septicemia and dementia at a rate 11 to 15 times higher than the usual Medicare beneficiary. These factors increase the complexity and acuity of these patients’ needs, making their treatment some of the most expensive in the healthcare system.  

This challenging clinical landscape is where SLTCM can leverage its history of high-quality, cost-effective care to serve these most vulnerable patients. Telemedicine is key to our ACO’s ability to stay ahead of the clinical curve. Telemedicine helps providers treat patients in place, limiting care disruption and reducing unnecessary escalations of care to acute care facilities. This communication advantage not only improves patient experience and quality of life but also but also helps save on the cost of care — savings that are passed on to SLTCM’s partners at no risk. 

The future is bright

SLTCM’s support of provider and facility partners has helped transform patient care in the long-term care setting. We are deeply committed to improving the quality of long-term care, and the undeniable results show that our collaborative approach is making a tangible difference in patients’ lives. SLTCM has done something really special here for patients, and we’re excited to apply what we’ve learned from our first year to make an even more positive impact in the years to come.  

Learn more about SLTCM

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