Cultural Competency Training and Performance Measures to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care Quality
Authors: Thomas D. Sequist
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters18 May 2010Cultural Competency Training and Performance Measures to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care QualityThomas D. Sequist, MD, MPH, Dana Gelb Safran, ScD, and John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPPThomas D. Sequist, MD, MPHFrom Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02120; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02215; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115., Dana Gelb Safran, ScDFrom Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02120; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02215; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115., and John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPPFrom Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02120; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02215; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-10-201005180-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We agree with Drs. Wallace and Duffy that increasing the diversity of the physician workforce is an important goal and is a form of organizational cultural competency that may broadly improve health care for minority patients (1, 2). However, long-term efforts to improve the diversity of the health care workforce must be accompanied by targeted efforts to improve the current workforce. Our quality-improvement program, which combined cultural competency training and performance feedback, increased clinicians' awareness of racial disparities in care. This awareness is the first step to engaging clinicians in eliminating these disparities. However, our data show that ...References1. Sequist TD. Addressing Racial Disparities in Health Care: A Targeted Action Plan for Academic Medical Centers. Washington, DC: Assoc American Medical Colleges; 2010. Google Scholar2. Betancourt JR, Green AR, Carrillo JE, Ananeh-Firempong O. Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public Health Rep. 2003;118:293-302. [PMID: 12815076] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Sequist TD, Schneider EC, Li A, Rogers WH, Safran DG. Reliability of medical group and physician performance measurement in the primary care setting. Med Care. 2010. [Forthcoming]. Google Scholar4. Krumholz HM, Lee TH. Redefining quality—implications of recent clinical trials. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:2537-9. [PMID: 18539915] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02120; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02215; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCultural Competency Training and Performance Reports to Improve Diabetes Care for Black Patients Thomas D. Sequist , Garrett M. Fitzmaurice , Richard Marshall , Shimon Shaykevich , Amy Marston , Dana Gelb Safran , and John Z. Ayanian Cultural Competency Training and Performance Measures to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care Quality Erik A. Wallace and F. Daniel Duffy Cultural Competency Training and Performance Measures to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care Quality Leonard Pogach Metrics 18 May 2010Volume 152, Issue 10Page: 686-687KeywordsBlood pressureCholesterolClinical trialsHealth careHealth care qualityHealth disparitiesPatientsQuality improvementStatins ePublished: 18 May 2010 Issue Published: 18 May 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...