North State Quality Care Network (NSQCN)

California

Under the guidance of its 15-member Board of Managers, North State Quality Care Network (NSQCN) has continued to grow its network while participating in MSSP. The network includes 159 providers and three hospitals — Mercy Medical Center in Redding, St. Elizabeth’s in Red Bluff and Mercy Medical Center in Mt. Shasta. NSQCN is dedicated to offering patient and provider education for this vast region, which includes Shasta, Tehama and Siskiyou counties.

NSQCN achieved shared savings for its 2018 performance based on high quality scores and excellent stewardship of resources.

Quality Highlight

NSQCN providers have focused on completing annual wellness visits for Medicare patients, encouraging patients to engage in preventive care, identifying patients at high risk for disease and directing those patients to Care Coordination when appropriate. As a result, NSQCN saw a 13% reduction in diabetes admissions, 12% reduction in heart failure admissions, improved glucose control and improved blood pressure control in 2018. The network has also worked to enroll patients in post-acute transitional care to help reduce readmissions.

In addition, NSQCN is proud of its advance care planning campaign, which has included providing materials for patients in physician waiting rooms and hosting monthly “Let’s Talk” classes. The initiative has relieved some of the burden on the network’s providers, while empowering patients to make important end-of-life decisions early.