Cultural Competency Resources
Cultural competency is an integral part of delivering exceptional care to Medical Mutual members. According to the American Hospital Association, cultural competency in healthcare is the ability of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs, and behaviors, including tailoring healthcare delivery to meet patients' social, cultural, and linguistic needs.1
As part of our cultural competency program, we would like to share the following educational resources with you to help in your efforts to provide culturally competent care.
Medicare Learning Network (MLN)
The Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) is a valuable and trusted resource for Medicare providers seeking knowledge and guidance on Medicare-related topics. Created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), it offers free educational materials related to CMS programs, policies, and initiatives. Health care providers can access a wealth of information on the MLN website, including Web-based training, publications and multimedia, articles outlining critical updates, and a weekly newsletter.
Introduction to Language Access Plans (August 2022) (Contact Hours 60 min.)
- Learn about developing and using a language access plan, and how it impacts healthcare for those with limited English proficiency.
Caring for LGBTQI+ Patients (June 2023) (Contact Hours 65 min.)
- Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) terminology is important. Build trust with your LGBTQI+ patients by learning the terminology, understanding disparities and using best practices for collecting and managing SOGI data.
Modernizing Healthcare to Improve Physical Accessibility (July 2021) (Contact Hours 65 min.)
- Learn solutions for increasing the physical accessibility of healthcare settings and services for people with disabilities.
A Physician’s Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care
This is a free, online educational program accredited for physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. The American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians endorse this program, which provides up to 9.0 hours of category 1 AMA credits.
US Department of Health & Human Services
This site provides information on National CLAS Standards and education including free continuing education e-learning programs, recorded presentations, quarterly newsletters, case study video units and more.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
This site offers two guides for defining cultural needs in managed care and developing appropriate services for them.
- Planning Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services – Offers health plans an approach to defining the needs of multi-ethnic members and developing culturally and linguistically appropriate services for them.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – The Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (2nd edition) is a free set of tools to help primary care practices improve interactions between patients and staff.
1Becoming a Culturally Competent Health Care Organization. aha.org. https://www.aha.org/ahahret-guides/2013-06-18-becoming-culturally-competent-health-care-organization.