Better care, healthier communities, greater impact: UC report highlights progress

Helping more people manage high blood pressure. Making it easier to get needed medications. Connecting people with community resources. These are just a few of the ways UC is making a difference in people’s health across California.

UC Population Health and UC Health Communications are excited to share the UC Population Health Annual Report for 2025–26, which highlights some of the exciting progress UC teams have made by working together to achieve better health outcomes, increase efficiency and help more people get the services they need.

“Our strength lies not in the work of any one academic health center, but in all UC locations’ ability to learn from one another, launch and expand successful programs and accelerate innovation.”

— Samuel A. Skootsky, M.D., UC Health Chief Population Health Officer

Making a difference across UC

The report highlights successes from across UC’s six academic health centers, including:

• Managing chronic conditions: Over five years, UC made a 21% improvement in blood pressure management, helping 42,000 people with hypertension get their condition under control. Another 4,000 people with diabetes reached their blood sugar goals.
• Providing faster access to medications: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who use UC pharmacies gained access to specialty treatments 41% faster and increased their medication adherence by 12%.
• Making care easier to coordinate: UC developed a shared approach to identifying patients with advanced cancer and created its first UC Way care coordination resource guide.
• Connecting people with support: Referrals to community services that address health-related social needs increased by 14% across UC’s academic health centers.
• Preventing illness: UC administered 290,000 more vaccinations than the previous year.
• Getting people home sooner: Changes to cardiac surgery care reduced hospital stays by a combined 455 days across UC locations while maintaining excellent outcomes.

Together, these efforts show what’s possible when UC teams share ideas, learn from one another and find new ways to make healthcare more effective, accessible and efficient.

Read the UC Population Health Annual Report for 2025–26 to learn more about the work happening across UC and the difference it’s making in people’s lives.