Tackling Health Care Disparities through Culturally Competent Care | hioscar Blog | Oscar
Tackling Health Care Disparities through Culturally Competent Care
We’ve taken a closer look at our efforts to put culturally competent care at the heart of everything we do.
General HealthClinically Speaking
5 min read
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We founded Oscar because we saw the clear systemic flaws in the American health care system. These flaws made it too expensive and too inconvenient for far too many Americans to obtain quality health care. We have also seen that those barriers to care are worsened by both the conscious and unconscious biases that divide us.
This reality means our mission of making a healthier life accessible and affordable is even more important. As a health insurer, it is our responsibility to ensure that our products and services are attainable and equitable for all members.
To put this practice into play, we’ve taken a closer look at our efforts to put culturally competent care at the heart of everything we do. Below, we’ll walk you through the importance of culturally competent care, what we’ve done to support historically underrepresented communities, and our future plans for expanding access to care.
Defining culturally competent care
Inequities within the health care system are ever-present and these inequities have a direct impact on clinical outcomes.
“Health outcomes for minority patients are better when they are treated by providers who understand how their race, ethnicity, and culture affect their care needs,” says Dr. Sameer Amin, Oscar’s Chief Medical Officer. “Oscar recognizes the importance of diversity, inclusion, and belonging efforts in empowering our community and helping us better serve our members.”
So, where does cultural competency come into play?
In recognizing that each individual has different social, cultural, and linguistic needs, the same notion extends to their health care. Cultural competency (opens in new tab) within a health care setting is a framework that goes beyond simply acknowledging these sociocultural and linguistic differences. With culturally competent care, health care systems work to grow their own cultural knowledge and resources and adapt their products and services to meet individuals where they are.
Building a culturally competent environment, regardless of the setting, requires involvement from all levels. For health insurers, in particular, we have the opportunity to surface culturally competent health care providers to our members when they are searching for care. Doing so can reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care, deepen the connection between the member and their provider, and ultimately lead to better health care outcomes.
If your health care would be improved with additional language support through translation or with a provider who shares your sociocultural background, then a culturally competent framework can support you.
Investing in community-driven organizations
Oscar is committed to addressing the lack of representation of minorities in medicine, which contributes to negative health outcomes in underrepresented communities. In 2020, we built our Culturally Competent Care program to provide care access for members with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors. This includes tailoring the process of improving access to providers who deliver care that meets members’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs.
Watch our panel discussion (opens in new tab) with Hispanic Unity of Florida, an Oscar Culturally Competent Care grantee, and Oscar Medical Group nurse practitioner Gloria Pacheco on the importance of increasing access to care in historically underrepresented communities.
Building on our efforts to support Oscar members
On an individual level, we want Oscar members to know that asking for a culturally competent provider is and always will be encouraged. Creating meaningful change happens when individuals demand tailored care.
“Patients should be proactive in asking their insurer if they are looking to obtain and surface culturally competent information to members. They should also advocate for access to physicians who understand their cultural needs,” notes Dr. Amin.
On a population level, we at Oscar are continuing to engage hospital systems, provider groups, state regulatory agencies, and medical boards/associations. The experience has indicated that provider race and ethnicity data is often inaccessible due to lack of data interoperability, confidentiality concerns, or significant gaps in necessary data fields.
Oscar is well equipped to change the narrative and is using our technological platform and data and analytics capabilities to power our Culturally Competent Care Program. The Program aims to ensure all our members are able to receive care that fits their cultural needs and preferences. In its inaugural year, we prioritized the following initiatives under the Program:
Building a Culturally Competent Physician Network
Oscar has developed a tech-based system to identify gaps in our current network, and uses this intelligence to develop a comprehensive physician network focused on providing an adequate number of physicians for our members based on their physician race and ethnic preferences.
Through Oscar’s full-stack, consumer-focused technology, we are able to quickly adapt to members’ needs. This is especially important when addressing the disparities in the healthcare system.
Creating a Robust Provider Database
Oscar is building a database of provider race, ethnicity, and cultural competence data in order to allow the company to improve member experience and population health programs for marginalized communities.
Additionally, the database is used to train Oscar care teams on how to approach conversations in a thoughtful way to help members find a provider based on this information and the individual member needs.
Receiving a Recognized Multicultural Distinction
Lastly, we are pursuing the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Distinction in Multicultural Health Care as a part of our corporate quality insurance company board accountability.
We welcome our community to join us as partners on this journey. The work of building a more equitable and fair health system requires us to hold each other accountable, demand transparency, and engage in critical dialogue that challenges us all to do better.
This content does not constitute medical advice and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, including diagnosis or treatment. Contact your physician with any questions you may have regarding COVID-19 or your personal health. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 911 for immediate assistance.
