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Medi-Cal Quality Improvement and Health Equity Transformation Program (QIHETP)

Kaiser Permanente is committed to the Medi-Cal QIHETP. The QIHETP is a plan to make healthcare better for everyone. It’s a team effort to check how well healthcare is working. It also helps find ways to improve it. The goal is to make sure everyone has the same chance to be healthy.

QIHETP involves many people working together to keep healthcare fair. This includes doctors, patients, and community leaders. We’re making sure everyone, including you, gets the best care possible.

Quality Improvement and Health Equity Committee (QIHEC) Quarterly Report 

The QIHEC is a group of people from Kaiser Permanente and the community. We work together to make sure everyone gets the right healthcare. No matter their race, ethnicity, gender, or who they love. We focus on keeping people healthy and preventing disease. We do this by making sure everyone gets the care they need. The QIHEC helps us make healthcare better for Medi-Cal members.

Here's a summary of what was talked about, decided, and done in recent meetings.

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Plans and Systems (CAHPS®) Result Summary – coming in 2025

The Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) wants to know how happy people are with their Medi-Cal health plans. So, they ask adults and parents of kids in the plans to fill out a survey. This survey is called CAHPS. It's like a report card that tells DHCS if the plans are doing a good job taking care of people. The results help DHCS make the plans even better.

2025 Annual Work Plan - Northern California

The QIHETP work plan lists the projects and goals we’re working on. It keeps track of how well we’re improving the fairness and quality of health care for our members.

Goals and Plans

Goal: Improve health care for Medi-Cal members by focusing on key areas.

How we’ll do it:

  • Take actions to reach our goals.
  • Assign responsible people to complete tasks by set deadlines.
  • Check results and figure out what worked and what didn’t.
  • Identify problems and find ways to fix them.
  • Plan next steps to continue improving care.

Main Person Responsible: Hajnal Avery, Senior Director of Medi-Cal Quality, NCAL

1. Kaiser Permanente Statewide Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Clinical Performance Improvement Project

Goal: Make sure more Black/African American children on Medi-Cal get regular health check-ups in their first 30 months of life.

Deadline: 12/31/2025

Steps to reach the goal:

  • Submit reports to DHCS on time.
  • Share progress updates with key groups.
  • Check and analyze data regularly.
  • Educate teams on why this is important.
  • Work with local health teams to share good ideas.
  • Find new ways to improve based on other health plans’ experiences.
  • Hold regular meetings to track progress.

Main people responsible: Jessica Castaneda (Primary), Sara Cortez (Secondary)

2. Project: Kaiser Permanente Statewide DHCS Non-Clinical Performance Improvement Project

Goal: Make sure more doctors get notified within 7 days when Medi-Cal patients go to the emergency room for substance use or mental health issues.

Deadline: 12/31/2025

Steps to reach the goal:

  • Submit reports to DHCS on time.
  • Update key groups on progress.
  • Create a system to track notifications and identify problems.
  • Improve how hospitals communicate with doctors.
  • Automate notifications so doctors get alerts faster.
  • Partner with emergency rooms to improve care transitions.
  • Keep reviewing data to make improvements.

Main people responsible: Shawan Casborn (Primary), Sara Cortez (Secondary)

3. DHCS MCAS Measure: Lead Screening in Children

Goal: Make sure more children get tested for lead before their second birthday.

Deadline: 12/31/2025

Steps to reach the goal:

  • Improve reminder systems in electronic health records.
  • Reach out directly to families about screenings.
  • Use automated messages to remind families.
  • Work with health teams to share best practices and remove obstacles.
  • Learn from other health plans to find better solutions.

Main people responsible: Sara Cortez (Primary), Jessica Castaneda (Secondary)

4. DHCS MCAS Measure: Topical Fluoride for Children

Goal: Make sure more children and teens get fluoride treatments twice a year to prevent cavities.

Deadline: 12/31/2025

Steps to reach the goal:

  • Start a statewide oral health improvement plan.
  • Work with doctors and dentists to make sure children get fluoride treatments.
  • Connect families with community dental resources.
  • Improve communication so families know where to find dental care.

·       Make it easier to see a dentist and shorten wait times for appointments.

·       Continue using the electronic system to alert doctors and track fluoride treatments for kids at specific ages.

Main people responsible: Sara Cortez (Primary), Jessica Castaneda (Secondary)

5. Meeting State Performance Standards

Goal: Ensure that Kaiser Permanente Medi-Cal programs meet or exceed required quality levels in at least 16 out of 18 key health measures in each county served.

Steps to reach the goal:

  • Share progress updates with local health teams.
  • Work with doctors and health leaders to improve care.
  • Track performance data and update reports regularly.
  • Train teams on using a new health tracking system.
  • Support new race and ethnicity reporting standards.

Main people responsible: Sara Cortez, Jessica Castaneda, Mercedes Quiles, Shawan Casborn, Margaux Permutt