CA Quits is kicking off its 2024 Tobacco Learning Collaborative and Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan workgroup. Check out new educational materials for healthcare providers interested in updating tobacco cessation workflows to address vaping. Providers can use the Ask, Advise, Refer scripting when talking to patients on quitting tobacco and nicotine.



2024 Tobacco Learning Collaborative (TLC) Kick Off

CA Quits is hosting their 6^th Annual TLC for public hospital clinics participating in the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Quality Incentive Pool (QIP) program and reporting on the tobacco measure! The virtual session is on the 4^th Monday of April, July, and October from 11am-12pm. The TLC is an opportunity for:

• Peer-to-peer learning,
• Dissemination of best practices in tobacco integration, and
• Accessing tools and strategies to achieve quality improvement in tobacco treatment.

Our CA Quits Quality Improvement Specialist can also schedule one-on-one sessions with QIP health systems to implement population health care gap strategies to advance tobacco treatment equity.

For more information about the TLC or additional support, contact Moreen Sharma: mmsharma@ucdavis.edu

In 2024, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCPs) signed new contracts resulting in some changes to MCP coverage in some counties.

CA Quits continues to work with the MCPs through the population outreach collaborative efforts with Kick It California, facilitating partnerships, and hosting the MCP workgroup meetings as a space to learn, discuss opportunities and lessons learned on how to engage individuals and communities to quit tobacco and other nicotine products.

On April 15, CA Quits hosted their first MCP workgroup meeting of the year. Partnership HealthPlan of California and the Community Pharmacist Enhanced Services Network (CPESN) of CA discussed opportunities for MCPs and community pharmacies as a promising partnership to improve access to tobacco treatment services, including training pharmacy technicians as community health workers to bill under CalAIM’s CHW benefit and promoting the implementation of AB 1114 services and reimbursement, which allows for community-based pharmacies to provide tobacco treatment counseling and furnishing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). We had about 50 attendees representing the MCPs, community pharmacies, and tobacco prevention partners at the meeting.

We look forward to another year of engagement and collaboration with the MCPs and our partners! 

For more information about the MCP workgroup contact Shannon Haggitt, Plan and Partner Manager, srhaggitt@ucdavis.edu

A systemic review of over 100 studies shows that cigarettes and e-cigarettes have similar odds for cardiovascular disease, stroke, or metabolic dysfunction and that dual use of both cigarettes and e-cigarettes has much higher odds of tobacco-related disease. An editorial explains why this is so important.

NATIONAL FRAMEWORK

The U.S. "Health and Human Services Framework to Support and Accelerate Smoking Cessation 2024" uses a health equity lens to provide an organizing set of goals and strategies to enhance collaboration and coordination on smoking cessation. The 6 goals focus on reducing disparities, increasing knowledge, strengthening and sustaining cessation services, increasing access to and coverage of cessation treatment, advancing and sustaining surveillance and strengthening evaluation, and promoting research. These goals have 4 cross-cutting principles; advancing health equity; community engagement; coordination, collaboration, and integration; and evidence-based approaches.

• Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California New and Revised Education Materials in various languages.

• California Department of Public Health - Key findings from the 2023 Online California Adult Tobacco Survey

• 4/26/2024: Virtual and In-Person (CME/CEU Available) - Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UCSF, "It's About A Billion Lives" Annual Symposium on Tobacco Control.

• 5/6/24: Virtual - San Diego Wellness Collaborative & UC San Diego, School of Medicine - CA Quits: Supporting Tobacco Treatment Best Practices Through Systems Change, the team will discuss the current state of California tobacco/nicotine use and identify ways providers and healthcare systems can implement tobacco treatment best practices.

CA Quits | www.caquits.com.