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Integrated Care Software Built to Improve Health and Social Care Outcomes
With 7.27 million cases on NHS waiting lists as of June 2026 and health and social care services under sustained pressure, the case for integrated care has never been stronger.
Integrated care systems software helps Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), NHS trusts, and local authorities connect people, processes, and data to reduce fragmentation, cut avoidable admissions, and enable clinicians to spend more time on care.
At Access, we support organisations across the care continuum with a connected suite of solutions designed to help you deliver better outcomes, more efficiently.
New to integrated care? Read our guide to: Integrated Care: What is it and what are the benefits?
The Challenges for ICBs
England's ICBs are mid-restructure. The April 2026 changes reduced the total from 42 to 36, with a further wave expected from April 2027. All of this while meeting a 50% running cost reduction target.
Staff shortages, funding constraints, and reliance on multiple disconnected systems compound these pressures. This makes it harder for ICBs to coordinate care, share data effectively, and deliver consistent outcomes across their populations.
+
posts
set to be abolished as part of the reform programme
%
public satisfaction
with NHS services - still near record lows despite the first rise since 2019
%
trust leaders
say their trust lacks sufficient funding to invest in digital transformation
k
A&E patients
treated in hospital corridors in June 2026 - around 5% of all attendances.
Unlock the Potential of Integrated Care: Challenges, Opportunities, and Tech Solutions
Overcoming the Barriers to Integration
Tackling these challenges requires a fundamental redesign of how care is planned and delivered. For ICBs, that means consolidating fragmented data, building prevention into the system, and ensuring every part of the care pathway can communicate effectively. Three priorities stand out.
The Role of Community Services
With hundreds of hospitals grappling with a backlog of patients waiting to be admitted, treated, or discharged, the strain on acute services remain significant.
Preventative initiatives like hospital at home, virtual wards and tech-enabled care models undoubtedly help address these challenges, but as Lord Darzi highlighted in his independent review of the NHS (September 2024), leaning on the community and voluntary sector is crucial for tackling the social determinants of health and reducing avoidable demand on the system.
This support is vital for individuals facing long-term conditions and mental health issues, as well as facilitating early intervention strategies at the community level. Whether it’s through social prescribing initiatives, fall prevention services, or rapid crisis response services, such efforts are essential not only for preventing avoidable hospital admissions but also for helping individuals maintain their independence, thereby reducing ambulance call-outs and the footfall in A&E departments.
How ICS Software Is Used Across the Care System
Integrated care systems software supports a wide range of functions across NHS Trusts, ICBs, local authorities and community providers. These are the most common use cases.
Population health management
ICBs use integrated data platforms to identify high-risk cohorts, target preventative interventions, and track outcomes across their population. By connecting data from primary care, secondary care, social care and community services, commissioners can move from reactive to proactive care planning
Care coordination and shared records
Multidisciplinary teams across an ICS rely on shared patient records to coordinate care without duplication. Integrated EPR systems give clinicians a complete, real-time view of each patient regardless of which organisation they are being treated by, reducing the risk of missed information at handover.
Discharge and patient flow
Delayed discharges are one of the biggest drivers of bed pressure in NHS hospitals. ICS software connects acute, community and social care teams to speed up discharge planning, identify appropriate step-down pathways, and free up beds for patients who need them most.
Social prescribing and community referrals
Link workers and social prescribing teams use integrated software to receive referrals from GPs, manage caseloads, and record outcomes. Connecting these services to NHS clinical systems ensures referrals are tracked and outcomes are visible to commissioners.
Commissioning and contract management
ICBs and local authorities use commissioning software to manage the full cycle of health and social care commissioning: from needs assessment and provider selection through to contract monitoring, compliance and payment. Integrated tools reduce the administrative burden and give commissioners better visibility of spend and outcomes.
Virtual wards and technology-enabled care
Virtual ward software allows NHS Trusts to deliver hospital-level monitoring and care in patients' homes, reducing length of stay and freeing up acute capacity. Integration with EPR systems ensures clinical teams have a complete picture of each patient's condition and history.
Download our whitepaper to explore solutions that transform integrated care
We Join the Dots to Help You Deliver Exceptional Care
At Access, we firmly believe a holistic, collaborative approach is the best way to mitigate the challenges preventing integration and enable ICBs to better meet peoples’ needs.
Our connected suite of solutions gives health and social care providers the tools to deliver consistently high standards of care, with the person always at the centre.
Access Adam Commissioning
Streamline care commissioning across your ICS with Access Adam. Software that helps teams manage brokerage, maintain NHS and CQC compliance, and reduce administrative burden.
Patient Flow Management
Get real-time views of bed occupancy and speed up discharge. APFM ensures patients are receiving the right care in the right place at the right time.
Access Elemental Social Prescribing
Connect GP systems with community, housing, and local services through Access Elemental, supporting social prescribing at scale and improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes across your population.
Patient Journey Manager
Support every stage of the patient pathway - from referral and admission through to safe discharge - with a single, joined-up solution that keeps teams informed and patients moving through the system.
Rio Electronic Patient Records
Access Rio is a fully centralised EPR that integrates with your existing systems, giving clinicians a complete, real-time view of every patient to support safer decisions and more joined-up care.
Digital Telecare
Reduce readmissions and support independent living with digital monitoring and alarm technology that keeps people safe at home, and gives clinicians the visibility to act when it matters most.
Virtual Wards
Deliver hospital-level care at home with Access Virtual Wards. Free up acute capacity, reduce length of stay, and enable patients to recover in familiar surroundings.
Social Care Case Management
Break down the barriers between health and social care with connected case management, reducing duplication, streamlining workflows, and enabling joined-up support for the people who need it most.
Care Compliance
Manage audits, inspections, and CQC compliance in one place. Equips care teams with the tools and confidence to maintain consistently high standards of safe, quality care.
Scheduling and Rostering
Manage staff schedules, allocate shifts, and handle payroll and HR from one place. Designed for health and social care teams working across multiple sites and services within an ICS.
Medication Management
Order, manage and administer medication safely and effectively with our electronic MAR system. Built to reduce errors and give care teams confidence at every stage of the medicines management process.
Access Intelligent Care Platform
Connect health and social care teams with real-time notifications and unified patient views across multiple systems. AICP transforms data into action, enabling coordinated neighbourhood care through proactive alerts when patients move between settings.
Integration Across the Board with Access Intelligent Care
Transform your health and social care operations with Access Intelligent Care Platform (AICP), a platform that unites people, processes, and systems to streamline workflows and enhance collaboration across the whole ICB.
Integrated Care FAQs
What is integrated care?
Integrated care refers to a coordinated, “closed-loop” approach to healthcare delivery, where services are interconnected across different providers, places, and systems. This strategy aims to provide patients with comprehensive, holistic care that’s delivered more efficiently than the current methods. In England, integrated care is overseen by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning health services for their local populations.
How does integrated care improve patient outcomes and experiences?
Collaboration naturally enhances patient outcomes by ensuring that all stages of their health journey are seamlessly coordinated from end to end. From initial treatment and referrals to transitions of care and eventual discharge, integration ensures accurate documentation and sharing of vital information, reducing medical errors, delays, missed treatment opportunities, and unnecessary admissions.
What are the challenges of implementing integrated care initiatives?
While some trusts and organisations have embraced an integrated approach to healthcare delivery, others lag behind, which creates operational hiccups and gaps in miscommunication. This may stem from outdated systems or processes, a lack of funding and resources, workforce shortages, or similar challenges, which prevent the implementation of integration on a national scale.
How can an integrated care model promote interoperability and ensure accurate data sharing between healthcare providers?
Seamless integrated care is only possible when systems and people communicate with each other. In terms of interoperability, this translates into the right people having access to the same information and being able to perform their jobs without needing to learn any new systems or processes; data is accurately captured, shared to all the relevant systems, and readily available whenever someone needs it.
Learn more about how Access can support you
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