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Indigent Care Collaboration
I-Care Program helps the
uninsured
The Indigent Care Collab-oration (ICC) new I-Care program will help more than 100,000 uninsured Central Texas residents.
ICC is a coalition of health care providers in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties. The new I-Care program is designed to improve coor-dination and delivery of care for the uninsured population, which is estimated to be one out of four people locally.
The I-Care program has several component parts, including eligibility determination tools, a diabetes disease management pilot program and, at its core, a shared health record for patients that will be available to many health care providers in the region via the Internet.
Patients who participate will receive at no cost an I-Care card to use when they access health care at any ICC member location.
"This is proving to be one of the most creative ventures of its kind in the nation," says ICC Executive Director Paul Gionfriddo. He says funding for the program has been provided largely by the federal government, with matching foundation support and the program is "already attracting the attention of folks from around the country who are hoping to apply our model in their communities."
ICC has already identified nearly 100,000 low income patients in the area who are eligible for the program. Gionfriddo says the potential benefits to patients include improved care, fewer duplicate medical tests and easier registration processes. The benefits to providers include lower costs and better reimbursements for patients who qualify for funding programs, such as Medicaid.
The ICC is a coalition of 12 self-termed safety net providers in the region. Members include St. David's HealthCare Partnership, Seton Healthcare Network, Central Texas Medical Center, People's Community Clinic, Planned Parenthood, El Buen Samaritano, Volunteer Health Care Clinic, Austin Travis County MHMR Center, the City of Austin Community Care Services and Health and Human Services Departments, Williamson County and Cities Health Department, and the Travis County Medical Society.
Source: Austin Business Journal
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CCSD participates in Health Disparities Collaborative
CCSD is pleased to announce their participation in a federally-funded healthcare collaborative, designed to study and improve the health of a specified population of focus. A core team has been selected to implement the HRSA designed Depression Collaborative. The team will utilize tools that will systemically treat and track the impact of that treatment on patients with depression. Also, the study will evaluate the impact of the new Behavioral Health Model system on the treatment of patients with depression. According to HRSA, similar collaboratives have been extremely effective in the study and treatment of patients suffering with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The CHCs are among more than 20 "central cluster" clinic systems participating in the collaborative and is one of the largest.
Links:
Central Texas Health Data Collaborative (CTHDC)
National Assn of Community Health Centers (NACHC)
Texas Assn. Community Health Centers (TACHC)
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