Why Is It Important?

U.S. demographics are changing. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, racial/ethnic minorities make up 30 percent of the American population, and this figure is expected to increase to 40 percent by 2030. Independent research confirms that significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in providing quality health care to this population. As a result, cultural competence is rapidly emerging as a major quality issue for health care systems, a risk management issue for hospitals and a necessary skill set for clinicians.

What is cultural competence?
The American Medical Association defines cultural competence as “the knowledge and interpersonal skills that allow providers to understand, appreciate, and care for patients from cultures other than their own.” It involves an awareness and knowledge of the important cultural factors that impact the clinical encounter and the ability to effectively address them with quality health care as the ultimate goal.

Patients of color and new immigrants represent the fastest growing market segment in health care.
Some 47 million U.S. residents, 18 percent of the population, speak a language other than English at home. Access to health care, language barriers and cultural expectations all affect diagnosis, treatment options and compliance. Complicating matters is the fact that doctors and their patients may not have the same cultural background. Research also confirms that disease risks vary by ethnicity, and individuals from some ethnic backgrounds respond differently than Caucasians to similar dosages of pharmaceutical drugs. With so many factors affecting provider-patient relationships, clinicians face challenges in administering quality care to this increasingly diverse patient base.

The Institute of Medicine Notes Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

Disparities in health care have been documented in two recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care and Crossing the Quality Chasm. These reports offer specific recommendations for addressing racial/ethnic disparities currently existing within the health care system.

Critical Measures offers strategic cultural competence consulting, training and e-learning, as well as training and assessments on best practices, risk management and regulatory compliance issues.

Cultural competence in health care has a direct relationship to your organization’s strategic goals and objectives. David B. Hunt, a nationally-recognized expert on diversity-related matters, practicing attorney, and president of Critical Measures examines these critical business issues in a recent abstract, How Cultural Competence Relates to Your Business Objectives. He discusses diversity resulting from globalization, the growing diversity of the U.S. population, and the growing diversity of rural and urban state populations. Join to download a full version.

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