When we think of the health care delivery system and providing positive health care outcomes for patients it is important to consider cultural competency throughout the organization. Respecting the beliefs and cultural customs of patients helps to reduce patient anxiety, improves communications processes, and aids in relationship building processes between patients and their caregivers. Organizations that recognize the value and importance of cultural diversity also recognize that cultural competence reduces disparities that are often found within the health care delivery system (e.g., use of certain words in each language and hand gesture differences, medical biases, and individual norms and values). Benefits of cultural competency include aspects such as a greater understanding of patient expectations. When organizations have greater cultural competency, they gain a greater economic market share. Additionally, patients benefit through reduced medical error rates and enhanced preventative care programs. Lastly, communities benefit in terms of enhanced trust and a feeling of inclusion that promotes health care responsibility for self and the community.
The Joint Commission updated the cultural competency standards in 2010 to improve access to and quality of care for all patients. These standards are intended to provide guidance for organizations as they work to address the needs of all patients (The Joint Commission, 2011). Despite these very clear standards, health care organizations continue to see disparate outcomes due to implicit biases in health care workers. “Implicit bias refers to prejudicial attitudes towards and stereotypical beliefs about a particular social group or members therein. These prejudicial attitudes and stereotypical beliefs are activated spontaneously and effortlessly, which often result in discriminatory behaviors” (Hagiwara et al., 2020, para. 1).
· Give an example of an explicit and an implicit bias in health care. The example of systemic biases that may occur in policies (e.g., those held by insurance companies, federal and state mandates, etc.).
· Discuss the role biases have on patients’ perception of their access to and quality of health care.
· Identify three initiatives that can be taken to overcome implicit biases in a health care organization.
· Explain how your initiatives will reduce implicit bias.
