Integrated Care Collaborative in North Carolina 

  Overview

Many North Carolinians have inadequate access to mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse services (MH/DD/SAS), and their services for physical and behavioral health are poorly coordinated.  Primary care providers (PCPs) often must try to address unmet behavioral health needs with insufficient specialty back-up and information resources.  The ICARE Partnership seeks to increase access to quality, evidence-based behavioral health care services for North Carolinians.  Our aspiration is embodied in our name – we are partners in creating a healthcare system that is Integrated, Collaborative, Accessible, Respectful and Evidence-Based.

Project Goals 

To improve patient outcomes by:
1) increasing collaboration and communication between primary care and MH/DD/SAS providers
2) increasing the capacity of PCPs to provide appropriate, evidence-based behavioral health services to their patients and the capacity of MH/DD/SAS providers to screen and refer for physical illness. 

Project Design

This three-year project will have three areas of focus:

Statewide Education and Assistance
• Needs Assessment – Conduct focus groups to determine educational and technical assistance (TA) needs.
• Provider Training and Technical Assistance – Develop a range of provider training opportunities to encourage capacity and relationship building.  Modalities will include centralized and regional workshops; web-based conferences and resources; and practice-based trainings and technical assistance.
• Clinical Consultation – Develop and implement a clinical consultation service.

Local Model Development
• Community Systems – Develop integrated and coordinated local systems around the "Four Quadrant Model" that will include improved care planning, communication, support (resource directories and consultation) and the development of evidenced-based programs to care for patients with targeted behavioral health problems.
• Practice Implementation – Provide practice-based technical assistance to local providers to assure implementation of best practices.

Process and Policy Change
• Study and report practice-based, community, regional and statewide changes that are being recommended or implemented as a result of this initiative.

Access the ICARE Summary document here.