In August 2008, The Joint Commission, with funding from The Commonwealth Fund, began developing accreditation standards for hospitals that will promote, facilitate, and advance the provision of culturally competent patient-centered care. Under the direction of Paul Schyve, MD and Amy Wilson-Stronks, MPP, CPHQ, this 18-month project will increase national attention to cultural competence, highlight its intersection with patient-centered care, and improve the safety and quality of care for all patients. Additionally, The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the National Health Law Program, will design an implementation guide to prepare Joint Commission surveyors and accredited hospitals for the release of the new standards addressing culturally competent patient-centered care. The duration of the project is August 2008 through January 2010.
- The project will explore how diversity, culture, language, and health literacy issues can be better incorporated into current Joint Commission standards or drafted into new requirements.
- The culturally competent patient-centered care standards will build upon previous studies and projects, including the research framework from The Joint Commission's ongoing Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation study and evidence from the current literature.
- A multidisciplinary Expert Advisory Panel, representing a broad range of stakeholders, will provide guidance regarding the principles, measures, structures, and processes that will serve as the foundation for the culturally competent patient-centered care standards established through the project.
Meet the project team working to develop hospital standards for culturally competent patient-centered care.
To provide feedback and participate in an interactive discussion about the provision of culturally competent patient-centered care, access the project's WikiHealthCare web page.
For upcoming information on Field Review and Pre-publication standards, please visit The Joint Commission's Standards web page.
For more information, please contact Christina Cordero, PhD, MPH at (630) 792-5845 or ccordero@jointcommission.org.