A systems approach to culturally and linguistically competent care

Customer demographics, customer satisfaction, and care quality are important parts of a successful organization's strategies. Thus, the business case for a health system's approach to cultural and linguistic competence is fundamentally data driven. Pioneering healthcare organizations have found that diversity and cultural competence initiatives can be a resource and a remedy for pervasive quality and multicultural challenges. When hospital leadership initiates an assessment of its system's capabilities and performance in delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate care, the issue's importance is elevated for the institution, its clinical and administrative staff, and the community it serves. The first step in systems change is to assess baseline performance against best practices or national standards. The second step is to establish baseline performance in racial and ethnic equality in the process and outcome of care. The third step is to define and evaluate performance metrics by race, ethnicity, and primary language. The final step is to set performance goals and systematically evaluate progress toward those goals.