CAPP Physician Group: AUSTIN REGIONAL MEDICAL CLINICS
Project: EMPLOYEE HEALTH SERVICE CENTER PROJECT

Summary: The first year of Austin Regional Medical Clinic’s on-site Employee Health Service Center pilot with the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality shows success for all—patients, employer, and medical group—through fast diagnosis and prompt treatment, which leads to reduction in absenteeism and presenteeism.

Since March 16, 2006, state employees at the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have been able to receive health care at work at their new on-site Employee Health Service Center in Austin. Working closely with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) contracted with Austin Regional Clinic (ARC), a multispecialty medical group, to implement this innovative pilot program that offers on-site health services to state employees at TCEQ headquarters. The two-year pilot program has three basic goals: to provide basic medical care to state employees who choose to make use of the service, to reduce the cost of state employee health care, and to increase the wellness and productivity of state employees.
The Employee Health Service Center is staffed by an ARC nurse practitioner who sees patients for such health issues as cold and flu, fever, blood pressure checks, minor sprains and strains, while also educating patients on wellness and prevention. The center also provides information on such health issues as heart disease, diabetes, and women’s health screenings, and distributes health information to TCEQ employees. An ARC family practice physician provides physician oversight, and all services are free of charge to the employee.

After 12+ months in operation, this pilot project has proven to be a win-win for everyone. The patients have easy access to medical care—both walk-ins and appointments are accepted. Patients without a regular doctor are also referred to a primary care physician. This means that illnesses and conditions that may have otherwise gone untreated can be diagnosed and/or treated more quickly.

In addition, employees who show symptoms of the flu can be sent to the nurse right away, which reduces chances of other employees falling ill. This controls absentee rates and medical costs. Health education and wellness tips from the clinician should also have longer-term beneficial results. Because the pilot project is still in its infancy, the hard-dollar cost-benefit analysis cannot yet be quantified. However, the benefits to TCEQ, the employer, seem obvious—preventing and treating illnesses early should reduce absenteeism, presenteeism, and prevent the catastrophic costs associated with undiagnosed or untreated chronic life-threatening diseases.

For the physician group, Austin Regional Clinic, the Employee Health Center serves as an extension of the medical group’s physicians’ practice for their established patients who are also TCEQ employees, while providing prompt, quality care to ARC and non-ARC patients alike. In addition, the pilot allows ARC to test this new model of health care for potential growth and expansion of its business.

For more information about this project or an interview with Norman Chenven, M.D. of Austin Regional Clinic, please contact Heidi Shalev at (512) 421-4811.

Integrating Services for Low-Income Seniors Shows Health Care Benefit, by Claire Sowerbutt, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today, December 11, 2007.

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 11 -- For low-income seniors, the likelihood of providing the recommended standard of health care services could be enhanced by integrating home-based and institutional services, found researchers here.

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“From High Tech to Soft Touch: The Everett Clinic uses innovative ways to control health care costs,” by Bryan Corliss, Washington CEO, November 26, 2007.

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“CAPP’s 35 MSMGs [multispecialty medical groups] share a common vision as learning organizations dedicated to the improvement of clinical care. Their features include physician leadership and governance; commitment to evidence-based care management processes; well-developed quality improvement systems; team-based care; the use of advance clinical information technology; and the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical performance information. These features are congruent with the [Institute of Medicine’s] recommendations on key elements needed to redesign delivery systems.”

From Chapter 5, “Developing the Test Bed—Linking Integrated Service Delivery Systems: Council of Accountable Physician Practices,” by Michael A. Mustile, MD. The Learning Healthcare System: Workshop Summary (IOM Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine), edited by LeighAnne Olsen, Dara Aisner, and J. Michael McGinnis, National Academies Press, 2007.

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“A shift from the current care model to a more coordinated care model centered on primary care is one potential way to help stave off the healthcare dilemma.”

“It's too expensive to be a primary-care doctor,” by Debra A. Geihsler, president and CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates & Atrius Health. Boston Globe, July 25, 2007.

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