National
Cultural Competency Regulations and Accreditation Standards:
-
Culturally and Linguistically
Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care:
Recommendations for National Standards from the Office of Minority
Health
(OMH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
-
Standard on Cultural Diversity:
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
-
General Competencies for Outcome Project: Accreditation
Council
for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
-
Title VI, Executive Order 13166 & the Office
of Civil Rights’ LEP Guidelines
State
Policy and Regulation:
-
S-411, A-492: New Jersey State Legislature
UMDNJ
University Policy
-
Limited English Proficiency
(LEP) Policy
-
Religion and National Origin
Culturally
and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
(DHHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH)
developed recommendations for national standards for culturally
and linguistically appropriate
services (CLAS) in health care. The OMH stipulated that, “These
standards were proposed as
a means to correct inequities that currently exist in the provision
of health services and to make
these services more responsive to the individual needs of all patients/consumers.
. . [The standards] are especially designed to address the needs
of racial, ethnic, and linguistic population groups that experience
unequal access to health services. Ultimately, the aim of the standards
is to contribute to the elimination of racial and ethnic health
disparities and to improve the health of all Americans.”
The
OMH issued 14 standards. Standards 4, 5, 6 and 7 are current Federal
requirements for
all recipients of Federal Funds. Standards 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, and 13 are recommended by the OMH for adoption as mandates by
Federal, State, and national accrediting agencies. Standard 14 is
suggested by the OMH for voluntary adoption by health care organizations.
For more
information about the CLAS standards,
visit the OMH website click here http://www.omhrc.gov/clas/index.htm
Liaison
Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is
the nationally recognized accrediting
authority for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree
in U.S. and Canadian
medical schools. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American
Medical Colleges
and the American Medical Association.
Two UMDNJ
institutions: New Jersey Medical School
click
here http://njms.umdnj.edu/
in Newark and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
click here http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/
in Piscataway have received LCME accreditation.
Current
LCME Accreditation Standards under Functions and Structure of
a Medical School
detail the requirements that Educational Programs for the M.D. Degree
must meet in terms of
cultural competency and diversity.
For more
information about LCME or its accreditation standards
click here http://www.lcme.org
Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
(ACGME) is responsible
for the accreditation of post-M.D. medical training programs within
the United States.
In
2001, the ACGME began its Outcome Project: a long-term
initiative to emphasize
educational outcomes in the accreditation process. The ability to
demonstrate educational
outcomes provides a reliable measure of a program’s educational
effectiveness.
As part
of its Outcome Project, the ACGME developed six general
competencies that
outline what residents should know and be able to do. Under its
competency regulating
professionalism, the ACGME outlines its requirements in
terms of cultural competency.
For more
information about the AGME or its Outcome Project
click here http://www.acgme.org
Title
VI, Executive Order 13166 & the
Office of Civil Rights’ LEP Guidelines
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination
on the basis of race, color,
and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal
financial assistance. The
Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Office of
Civil Rights (OCR) enforces
this act. Although the OCR maintained for many years that language
is part national origin
and that organizations receiving federal funding should be required
to provide language
access to their services, there was no national guidance on how
to ensure compliance
with this stipulation.
In
2000, Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services
for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency” was issued by President Clinton. It requires
federal agencies to, “work
to ensure that recipients of Federal financial assistance provide
meaningful access to their
LEP applicants and beneficiaries.” The OCR then released,
“Guidance to Federal Financial
Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National
Origin Discrimination
Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons”
To find
out more about Title VI, visit the Title VI page on the
Department of Justice website
click here http://www.justice.gov/crt/cor/coord/titlevi.htm
To find
out more about Executive Order 13166, visit the Executive Order
13166 page on the Department of Justice website
For more
information of LEP policies in the U.S., visit the LEP website
click here http://www.lep.gov/
S-411,
A-492: New Jersey State Legislature
The Senate and Assembly of New Jersey passed a bill which
requires
physicians to have cultural competency training as a condition of
licensure
by the State Board of Medical Examiners.
For more
information about this bill, visit the New Jersey Legislature website
click here http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
UMDNJ
University Policy
UMDNJ has policies that pertain to cultural competency
through its Affirmative
Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
In addition, all UMDNJ faculty and staff
are required to attend a mandatory AA/EEO
Training Workshop once every two years.
To learn more about the UMDNJ’s
Affirmative Action/Equal
Employment Opportunity Office, visit their website
click here http://www2.umdnj.edu/aaeeoweb/index.htm
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