NCCARE360

There is growing recognition that better coordination and investment in the non-medical drivers of health, such as access to healthy food, safe and affordable housing, and well-paying jobs, can improve health and decrease health care costs. North Carolina is fortunate that many leading agencies have started developing innovative approaches for connecting communities with health care. As we approach Medicaid transformation combined with multisector leadership prioritizing a focus on the non-medical drivers of health and paying for value, North Carolina has the opportunity to lead the nation with its collaborative approach to buying health, not just health care.

The NCCARE360 technology platform will serve as core infrastructure for North Carolina as it moves to whole-person health and health system transformation. It creates a collaborative network of health care and human services organizations that allows for a coordinated, community-oriented, person-centered approach to delivering care in North Carolina. NCCARE360 allows providers to electronically connect those with identified needs to community resources and create a feedback loop on the outcome of those connections. This solution ensures accountability around services delivered, allows people to connect to services from a wide array of entry points, and provides a longitudinal person-centered record of referral and services. NCCARE360 implementation started in January 2019, and the platform will be available in every county in North Carolina by the end of 2020. NCCARE360 has the potential to touch the lives and improve the health of all North Carolinians, including the commercially insured, those with Medicare and Medicaid, the uninsured, and military and veteran populations.

NCCARE360 is a public-private partnership between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation and leverages the strengths of its vendor partners NC 2-1-1/United Way of North Carolina, Expound Decisions, and Unite Us. The tool has three main functionalities: 1) a robust statewide resource directory that will include a call center with dedicated navigators, a data team verifying resources, and text and chat capabilities; 2) a community resource repository to integrate resource directories across the state; and 3) a shared technology platform that enables health care and human services providers to send and receive secure electronic referrals, seamlessly communicate in real time, securely share client information, and track outcomes.

NCCARE360 is built on a flexible architecture that can be integrated into other platforms (eg, electronic health records, care coordination platforms, etc.) to ensure seamless workflows. In addition, NCCARE360 meets all HIPAA, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), and other privacy and security standards.

While this technology is built on industry standards, technology is just technology unless all community partners are trained and empowered to use it as a tool to better serve their patients and clients. NCCARE360 has a community engagement team across the state working with community-based organizations, social services agencies, health systems, independent providers, community members, and other stakeholders to create a statewide coordinated care network. This team will work with the community ahead of and during launch to engage community organizations, provide technical assistance and guidance on workflow, and facilitate on-boarding to the platform. After the launch, they will remain in the community to continue to grow the local networks, bring the community back together regularly to review data and network performance, adjust the technology or process based on learnings from the community, and offer ongoing technical assistance.

NCCARE360 has the power to transform lives and impact communities across North Carolina. It is the essential infrastructure uniting health care and human services that will enable the state to continue to lead the nation in systematically addressing the non-medical drivers of health and delivering improved health, well-being, and value for the people we serve.

• ©2019 by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and The Duke Endowment. All rights reserved.