Evaluation Finds Significant Quality Improvements in Independent Practices Across Los Angeles
January 13th, 2026
Findings show measurable improvements in diabetes, hypertension and colorectal cancer screening
Los Angeles, CA, January 13, 2026 – An independent evaluation shows that small medical practices serving Los Angeles’ most underserved communities achieved 7 to 13 percent improvement in blood pressure control, cancer screening and diabetes care. The findings come from the Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in Los Angeles (EQuIP-LA) initiative, which partnered with 31 independent practices to strengthen care quality for Medicaid patients across the region.
The EQuIP-LA initiative was led by the California Quality Collaborative (CQC), a health care improvement program that partners with providers, health plans and the delivery system across the state to strengthen primary care, advance health equity and spread evidence-based quality improvement. Through EQuIP-LA, CQC supported participating practices with a comprehensive technical assistance approach that included direct funding, targeted training, personalized advising, data insights and collaborative learning. CQC has supported hundreds of practices statewide through evidence-based improvement programs.
The evaluation, conducted by the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE), found statistically significant improvements (p<0.01) across all three priority clinical quality measures, with 30 of 31 practices improving at least one measure. Practices also reported strengthened foundational capabilities, increased readiness to sustain quality improvement and a deeper understanding of how to identify and address disparities in their patient population.
“This evaluation confirms what we see every day,” said Peter Robertson, Director of Practice Transformation at CQC. “Independent practices are cornerstones of care for Medi-Cal patients, and when we invest in their capacity, the entire health system benefits. These results show that meaningful improvement is not only possible but within reach for practices across California.”
Key findings from the evaluation include:
- Improved clinical outcomes: Participating practices achieved 7 to 13 percent improvement in blood pressure control, colorectal cancer screening and glycemic assessment, with 30 of 31 practices improving at least one measure.
- Strengthened primary care capabilities: Practices reported gains across CQC’s seven foundational domains of primary care, including team-based care, data-driven improvement and leadership engagement.
- Enhanced capacity for improvement: Providers and staff reported increased confidence in their ability to apply quality improvement methods and sustain improvements beyond the initiative.
- Equity-focused change: Practices deepened their understanding of health equity concepts and adopted strategies to better identify and address disparities within their patient populations.
“EQuIP-LA helped our practice strengthen how we deliver care for our patients. By training medical assistants as community health workers and using patient registries to guide outreach, we were able to close gaps in care and better connect patients to the medical and social services they need,” said Dr. Mallu Reddy, founder and medical director of Reddy Care Medical.
Building on lessons from EQuIP-LA, CQC continues to support care teams through training and applied learning opportunities, including its Improvement Coaching Workshop. The workshop offers participants hands-on training with core quality improvement tools that helps them advance real projects within their organizations. The training includes a pre-session orientation, full day of collaborative learning and post-session support. Registration for the April 2 session in Los Angeles is now open.
EQuIP-LA was funded by the California Health Care Foundation, which works to improve the health care system so that all Californians have the care they need.
Supporting Media Assets
About California Quality Collaborative (CQC)
The California Quality Collaborative (CQC), a program of the Purchaser Business Group on Health, is dedicated to improving the quality and affordability of health care across California. CQC collaborates with health plans, providers and purchasers to drive systemwide transformation and promote high-value, patient-centered care.
About the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE)
The Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE) designs and evaluates health-related programs and initiatives across the United States. Its mission is to improve the health of communities with collaborative approaches to planning, assessment, and evaluation. CCHE is part of Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute.
Media Contact:
Anna Elgart
California Quality Collaborative
Purchaser Business Group on Health
415-615-6322
aelgart@pbgh.org
Strengthening Care Where It Matters Most: What We Learned From EQuIP-LA
December 9th, 2025
Small independent practices are essential to California’s health care safety net. They provide trusted, community-based care to millions of patients, yet they often have fewer resources to develop the quality improvement (QI) and data capabilities needed to meet today’s health care demands.
A new independent evaluation of the Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in Los Angeles (EQuIP-LA) initiative shows what’s possible when these practices receive targeted support. EQuIP-LA (2023-2025) provided funding, individualized coaching and hands-on technical assistance to 31 independent practices that collectively served more than 50,000 Medi-Cal enrollees.
The evaluation, conducted by the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE), found that participating practices made meaningful gains in clinical quality, strengthened foundational primary care capabilities and increased their ability to sustain improvement over time.
EQuIP-LA was funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
What the Evaluation Found
Significant improvement in priority clinical measures
Across the two-year initiative, practices demonstrated statistically significant improvements in three priority areas: controlling blood pressure, colorectal cancer screening and glycemic status assessment for patients with diabetes. Almost every practice improved at least one clinical measure, and more reached national performance benchmarks by the end of the program. Practices credited strategies such as proactive patient outreach, documentation improvements and use of at-home screening kits.
Stronger advanced primary care capabilities
Practices also saw gains across most of the seven foundational domains of primary care, including engaged leadership, team-based care and data-driven improvement. Many achieved the maximum score in one or more domains and reported increased confidence in sustaining new workflows and participating in future QI programs.
Coaching improved infrastructure across the ecosystem
Through EQuIP-LA’s community-based coaching model, four provider organizations strengthened their internal coaching, data reporting and QI support infrastructure. These organizations plan to continue coaching and partnership with practices beyond the grant period.
Health equity embedded throughout
EQuIP-LA integrated equity into every component of the program, from intentionally recruiting practices serving diverse communities to supporting data stratification, patient-family engagement and outreach tailored to population needs. Participants reported increased understanding of equity concepts and early steps toward operationalizing these practices.
“CQC has helped us by providing a lot of useful [health equity] tools and resources that we didn’t have before in working with practices and explaining these things to them.”
— Participant, provider organization
Why This Work Matters
Independent practices care for many of California’s most underserved communities. The EQuIP-LA evaluation shows that when practices receive time, tools and tailored support, they can achieve meaningful improvements in quality and build the capabilities needed for long-term change. These findings reinforce the importance of investing in the places where patients already receive care and where trusted relationships are strongest.
“Independent practices are cornerstones of care for Medi-Cal patients, and when we invest in their capacity, the entire health system benefits,” said Peter Robertson, Senior Director of Practice Transformation at the California Quality Collaborative. “These results show that meaningful improvement is not only possible but scalable across California.”
These results tell a powerful story about impact, and the practice experiences behind them offer an even deeper look at what change required.
Explore More Stories From EQuIP-LA
Want to see how practices put these strategies into action? Explore additional stories and firsthand insights from EQuIP-LA participants:
Video Features
Implementation Spotlights
These resources offer a closer look at the approaches, challenges and innovations that contributed to the program’s success.
Access the full evaluation here and discover more about EQuIP-LA.
Advancing Equity-Centered Primary Care Through Practice Transformation
December 2nd, 2025
To achieve equitable, patient-centered care, improvement must start with those closest to the work—patients, communities and frontline teams. Through the Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in Los Angeles County initiative, the California Quality Collaborative (CQC) supported 31 independent practices in designing and implementing quality improvement (QI) interventions rooted in lived experience and social context.
Source: Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in LA (EQuIP-LA): Final Evaluation Report, Center for Community Health and Evaluation, 2025
EQuIP-LA’s community- driven approach resulted in significant improvements in key quality indicators related to diabetes, hypertension and colorectal cancer. Thirty of the participating practices achieved improvement on at least one of three initiative metrics, with collective improvement ranging from 7-13%. CQC shared more about EQuIP-LA’s impact during an August 2025 webinar.
The following implementation spotlights highlight real-world examples and practical tools from participating practices, demonstrating how equity-centered improvement can take shape across California’s primary care landscape.
Approaches to Designing Equity-Centered Quality Improvement Projects
Equity-centered QI intentionally prioritizes eliminating disparities experienced by marginalized and underserved communities.
This spotlight outlines key approaches to embedding equity into QI design and implementation, with practical examples from participating practices working to advance equitable care across Los Angeles County.
View Implementation Spotlight
Empowering Change: The Role of Community-Based Coaching in Health Care Transformation
Practice coaching plays a vital role in helping teams adopt evidence-based models and achieve sustained improvement.
This spotlight explores how community-based coaching supports transformation at the local level—highlighting how program coaches helped participating practices build capacity for change and strengthen equity-focused care.
View Implementation Spotlight
Strengthening the Primary Care Workforce: Embedding Community Health Workers Within Care Teams
Community health workers (CHWs) bridge the gap between clinical care and the communities they serve, improving access and trust.
This spotlight features Reddy Care Medical, a small independent practice that integrated CHWs into its primary care team. It offers a model for training and implementing CHWs to enhance engagement, coordination and equity in care delivery.
View Implementation Spotlight
Partnering with Patients in Equity-Centered Quality Improvement
Engaging patients as partners in QI is essential to creating care that reflects the realities of those it serves.
This spotlight showcases strategies such as listening sessions and co-design workshops that empower patients to shape interventions and drive equity-centered change within primary care practices.
View Implementation Spotlight
Practice and Patient Perspectives
Behind every quality improvement effort are the voices of those transforming care on the ground. Through the stories below, providers and patients share how EQuIP-LA strengthened their ability to deliver and advocate for more equitable, person-centered care.
• Reddy Care Medical and Tweedy Medical Group share how their teams improved coordination, addressed disparities and advanced more responsive care.
• Michelle Rosser offers a patient perspective that reinforces why experience and communication matter in shaping trust, follow-up and better outcomes.
By centering equity, community engagement and collaboration, CQC continues to demonstrate how independent practices can lead the way in advancing equitable, high-quality care across California.
Learn more about CQC’s health equity work and EQuIP-LA.
Scaling Behavioral Health Integration Across California
August 6th, 2025
How CQC’s 2024 initiatives supported whole-person care for 730,000 Californians
Behavioral health is essential—but many Californians still struggle to access it.
At CQC, we’re helping primary care teams close that gap by integrating behavioral health services in ways that are sustainable, equitable and scalable.
CQC’s Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Initiative is a multi-year statewide effort to accelerate behavioral health integration in small and independent primary care practices. The initiative supports practices in improving screening, diagnosis and treatment of mild-to-moderate behavioral health conditions—such as depression, anxiety and substance use—through direct technical assistance, peer learning and systems-level alignment.
In 2024, our CalHIVE BHI collaborative supported eight organizations as they advanced integration across California—reaching more than 730,000 lives.
We also launched a youth-focused learning exchange, extended technical assistance statewide and emphasized partnerships tha thelp families get faster, easier access to behavioral health.
2024 Highlights
- 730,000 Californians served by eight primary care organizations through CalHIVE BHI
- 9.8% increase in depression screening, with 32,500 additional patients screened
- 1,554 new depression diagnoses and 1,143 patients connected to care
- 200+ hours of improvement coaching delivered
- 554 attendees participated in 33 learning events and trainings
- 15 strategic actions recommended to advance sustainable BHI payment models
Explore the lessons and strategies that drove this work:
Read the 2024 BHI Integration Initiative Annual Report
Turning Shared Goals Into Real-World Results: CQC’s 2024 Impact
August 5th, 2025
Across California, the challenges facing our health care system remain significant—but so do the opportunities for transformation.
At the California Quality Collaborative (CQC), we believe real change happens when payers, providers, community partners and patients come together around a common purpose: better health outcomes, more equitable systems and stronger primary care.
In 2024, CQC’s programs touched more than 932,000 Californians through technical assistance and multi-stakeholder alignment efforts. This included helping practices implement new payment models, expand behavioral health integration, support youth behavioral health and embed equity into core quality improvement efforts.
2024 Highlights
From convenings and coaching to collaborations and tools, CQC’s work in 2024 helped build a stronger, more equitable delivery system for Californians across the state.
Explore the full 2024 Impact Report
Driving Access Through Innovation: Tweedy Medical Group’s Story
June 3rd, 2025
Primary care providers are often the first line of defense against preventable health issues, but many face systemic barriers that limit their ability to support patients fully. At Tweedy Medical Group in Los Angeles, cost was one of the biggest challenges. For Medi-Cal patients, high medication copays too often meant leaving the pharmacy empty-handed
Watch the video above to see how Tweedy Medical Group removed cost barriers and strengthened patient outcomes with support from CQC’s Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in LA County (EQuIP-LA) collaborative.
By launching a nonprofit and partnering with a local pharmacy, the clinic found a sustainable solution: cover unaffordable copays for Medi-Cal patients and ensuring continuity in care. The result was improved blood pressure control, fewer emergency department visits and greater patient trust.
Participation in EQuIP-LA helped validate and expand these efforts by connecting Tweedy Medical Group to a statewide network of peer clinics, real-time data insights and targeted quality improvement coaching.
“For the longest time we just felt like no one cared about us as a clinic. But with EQuIP-LA, we finally had support and a way to connect with the larger health care system—and that pushed us to do even more.”
— Dr. Robert Hernandez, Tweedy Medical Group
About EQuIP-LA
Launched in 2023, EQuIP-LA was a two-year improvement collaborative led by CQC dedicated to reducing disparities of care experienced by Medi-Cal enrollees of color. This work was made possible through the generous support of the California Health Care Foundation and in partnership with Health Net and L.A. Care Health Plan. Learn more.
Closing Gaps and Centering Equity: Reddy Care Medical’s Story
May 7th, 2025
Primary care practices play a critical role in closing equity gaps—especially when supported by improvement efforts designed with community needs in mind. That’s the approach behind Equity and Quality at Independent Practices in LA County (EQuIP-LA), a two-year quality improvement collaborative led by the CQC to reduce disparities of care experienced by Medi-Cal enrollees of color.
Watch the video above to hear how Reddy Care Medical strengthened care coordination and patient follow-up through EQuIP-LA.
Serving patients in Los Angeles County, Reddy Care Medical utilized EQuIP-LA’s community-based coaching model to support lasting improvements in chronic disease management and preventive care. Their efforts focused on addressing equity barriers for Medi-Cal patients, many of whom had previously faced challenges navigating the health system or accessing timely care.
The practice’s story underscores how locally grounded support, including tailored coaching and actionable data insights, can empower teams to embed equity into day-to-day workflows. Reddy Care Medical’s progress reflects the broader goals of EQuIP-LA: enabling sustainable improvements through community partnership, patient-centered strategies and real-time quality improvement tools.
“Most practices we met had this idea that we are treating patients equally. But there’s a difference between equal and equity. Because are you able to meet all the patients where they are?”
— Lydia Muse, Community-Based Coach, EQuIP-LA
About EQuIP-LA
Launched in 2023, EQuIP-LA was a two-year improvement collaborative led by CQC dedicated to reducing disparities of care experienced by Medi-Cal enrollees of color. This work was made possible through the generous support of the California Health Care Foundation and in partnership with Health Net and L.A. Care Health Plan. Learn more.
