Center for Healthcare Policy and Research | UC Davis Health

The UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research’s Healthy Living Clinic Initiative found that a system-based, quality improvement approach can significantly improve tobacco cessation services in primary care. The team created a Quick Start Guide to help clinics strengthen their efforts.

The UC Davis School of Medicine recognized students, residents, faculty and staff for outstanding contributions to the medical school as part of its annual awards. Jeffrey Hoch, associate director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, received the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Courtney Lyles discusses ways to detect and prevent bias in AI models and how UC Davis Health is building fairer and more reliable AI systems to serve patients and physicians. Lyles is director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and a leading researcher in digital health. 

Transportation challenges create major barriers for kidney failure patients who receive hemodialysis at a clinic. These disruptions also heavily impact clinic staff. New research from the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research calls for more coordination between health and transportation systems.

UC Davis, the city of Sacramento, and Wexford Science & Technology released the inaugural Aggie Square Community Benefits Partnership Agreement Annual Progress Report, highlighting early outcomes and investments tied to the development of the Aggie Square innovation district. The Center for Healthcare Policy and Research was among the first tenants at Aggie Square and hosted numerous public-facing events at the district during its first year of operations. 

A new paper in BMC Proceedings highlights consensus recommendations from a 2024 conference on strengthening the U.S. primary care system. Center for Healthcare Policy and Research faculty and staff led efforts to create seven priority actions to improve workforce development, payment models, and research investment. The paper follows a February 2026 webinar, sponsored by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), featuring primary care experts discussing how they’re working to improve primary care.

A School of Nursing doctoral student’s experience with the T32 ReACH program reveals how improving health begins with people and place. The ReACH program is led by Center for Healthcare Policy and Research Director Courtney Lyles and faculty affiliate Leigh Ann Simmons.