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Culturally Competent Healthcare (contd.)
BOTTOM LINE
Lower Healthcare Costs: Disease management has been implemented as part of many patient care plans to improve care and reduce costs. Diversity and cultural competence programs can reduce cost through better communication with patients regarding their risks and self-care. While this is the case for providers and employers, it is also such for all taxpayers and those paying insurance premiums. If overall usage increases for an employer as a result of untreated chronic conditions, the pool of payers pays more.
Recruit and Retain Better Health Professional Talent: Diversity and talent management go hand in hand. The most talented people like to work for organizations that are committed to providing the best-quality services. They know that an organization that reflects its customers does just that.
Improve Market Share: Hospitals and healthcare providers want and need new patients to survive. Patients of color are the fastest growing population of healthcare consumers. Communities that include particular cultural groups tend to patronize service providers that: 1) represent them; 2) understand and respond to them; 3) appreciate their differences and welcome them.
Prevent Lawsuits: Lack of cultural competence often leads to lawsuits. While this may or may not be warranted, the opportunities of a lawsuit increase with the perception or actual incidence that care is not provided equally.
Expand the Future Workforce Pipeline: With the current workforce shortage, the need for more people to choose the health professions (particularly nursing and allied health) is overwhelming. Encouraging and promoting diversity sends a message to ethnic minority students in your community that the health professions are a place where they can make a difference, particularly by seeing professionals they can emulate.
Compliance with Accrediting Bodies: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health has implemented standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAOH) also is exploring how to incorporate cultural and linguistic competence. While JCAHO's evaluation is not meant to find fault, incorporating standards into the overall evaluation could serve as a great opportunity for organizations to improve their cultural proficiency and, simultaneously, meet their business obligations.
(Culturally Competent Healthcare - Contd.)
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When organizations are not meeting the challenge of change, it is a rule not because they can't solve their problems, but because they won't see their problems; not because they don't know their faults, but because they rationalize them as virtues or necessities.
John Gardner
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CEU-Credited Web Seminars Coming Fall 2005
2.0 contact hour CEU/CME eligible web seminars, on a variety of topics. Our next edition of The Curve will have the dates; please let us know if you would like to be notified about the dates before then.
IN THE NEWS
Cook Ross's product CultureVision was cited in the news this month! DiversityInc featured our new web-based tool in their most recent issue.
"When a couple of Arabic descent recently visted St. Francis Hospital in Greenvale, SC, the attending physcian noticed the woman kept her head down and remained silent while her husband answered all the medical questions for her. The staff initially was concerned that this was a sign of a troubled relationship; however, after consulting CultureVision, a new online service that provides insight into various racial and ethnic groups, the staff learned this was normal behaviour in that culture . . ." click here for the full story! For more information,
call 301-565-4035 or email howross@cookross.com.
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