Cultural Competency Self Assessment

Are you really interested in developing a culturally competent organization? 

 

Do you need to kick-start a stalled process?

 

Consider a cultural competency self assessment.  This is one of the recommendations that I make when I do presentations on cultural competency in health care. 

 

There are a number of available assessment instruments.  I suggest you take a look at “  The Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Protocol for Managed Care Organizations ” developed under a contract with CMS.  There is also the related “ Cultural Competence Self Assessment Protocol for Health Care Organizations and Systems .

If you want to find other assessments I suggest you start by looking here, here and here. 

 

Among the requirements in NCQA’s draft standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services(

CLAS) is—you guessed it—a requirement to conduct an assessment, which states:

  The organization conducts a written assessment that includes the following.

1.      The extent to which cultural competence goals are reflected in its strategic plan

2.      The extent to which cultural competence goals are integrated in its annual business plan

3.      The cultural competence of its front-line staff

4.      The extent to which cultural competence goals are reflected in agreements with  network providers (facilities)

5.      The extent to which cultural competence goals are reflected in agreements with network practitioners (clinicians)

6.      The concordance between languages spoken by the membership and by its front-line staff.