Austin Regional Clinic (ARC), together with Ascension Seton and partners, recently ranked in the top 7% of 482 accountable care organizations nationwide, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers Medicare. The primary focus of this ACO is to improve care for Central Texans with traditional Medicare.
Accountable care means better outcomes
The Ascension Seton ACO includes ARC, Ascension Seton, Capital Medical Clinic, and Lone Star Circle of Care. As part of the ACO, the organizations work together to coordinate patient care and meet an extensive list of quality of care, patient satisfaction, and cost goals.
Congratulations to all! Together, we have improved health outcomes for our patients.
Access and coordination improve health for all
Ascension Seton ACO earned a top quality score based on performance measures that included ensuring patient satisfaction, promoting preventative health checks, and managing chronic disease. Measurement also included keeping our patients engaged and supported to prevent unnecessary ER visits and costly hospital stays.
In addition, the ACO invests in access, care coordination, health information technology, and other care enhancements to improve health outcomes for all patients.
"The investments we made and infrastructure we built, with proven performance for Medicare patients, reflect the care ARC provides to all of our more than 630,000 patients," said Anas Daghestani, MD, ARC President and CEO. "ARC has always been recognized, locally and nationally, as a high-performing medical organization that delivers high-quality coordinated care while reducing avoidable costs for our patients, employers, Medicare, and the taxpayers. With our ACO partners, we coordinate care for thousands of patients, resulting in improved outcomes and reduced costs."