The ICC is a nonprofit alliance of health care providers in Central Texas dedicated to the collection, analysis and sharing of health information with the goal of improving health care quality and cost efficiency across the continuum of care.

One of the ICC’s primary functions is the operation and management of a regional Health Information Exchange called the ICare system. Through the analysis of clinical data in the ICare system, the ICC is able to identify needs in the Central Texas health care system and create programs to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

ICC Members are health and social services providers, payers and purchasers, including hospital systems, health care networks, community health centers, clinics, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, individual providers and others.

In 1997, health care safety net providers in Travis County and the surrounding area came together to address access and financing issues and other obstacles to healthcare for the uninsured, underinsured, and other vulnerable and medically underserved residents of Central Texas. The group formed the Integrated Care Collaboration with the purpose of creating projects and programs among members that would increase access, improve quality, and lower the cost of providing health care for the underserved.

As the ICC programs developed, it became necessary to create a more formal structure through which it could implement and monitor its efforts. As a result, the ICC was organized as a Texas Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (TUUNA) in 1998. The ICC soon extended its membership to include providers in the greater Central Texas region beyond Travis County.

The ICC owns, maintains and operates a regional Health Information Exchange (HIE) called the ICare system and has continued to grow and evolve in the years since. At present, ICare contains data for nearly 1 million patients with over 6 million encounters (provider visits) at 70 locations throughout the Central Texas region. As more health care providers implement electronic health records and see the benefits of HIE for meaningful use and improved health outcomes for their patients, ICare continues to expand.

A Health Information Exchange is the electronic sharing and mobilization of health information across organizations in order to provide access to more complete and timely clinical data. Through improved access to health information, those at the point of delivery can provide safer, more efficient, effective, equitable and higher quality health care.

HIEs make it possible for health care providers to monitor and improve a patient’s continuity of care across the entire health care spectrum. In addition, HIE systems help control costs by reducing duplicate tests, reducing manual printing, paper, ink, mailing and time spent recovering missing patient information.

To see a list of 'Frequently Asked Questions' about the ICC and ICare click here.