Track 3-4
Policy

Monitoring Quality Performance Indicators for Cultural Competence

This presentation will address the approaches, tools, methods, and lessons learned from the Cultural Competence Quality Improvement Project (CC-QIP) currently underway in Massachusetts’s acute hospital settings contracting with Medicaid. The overarching goal of the project is to evaluate, monitor and improve the quality of services as evidenced by structure, process improvement efforts, and outcomes of care relevant to the states culturally and linguistically diverse Medicaid population. The emphasis of the CC-QIP has been to improve system-wide performance that promotes development of culturally competent systems of care to provide for the medical needs of patients in a manner compatible with their health beliefs, practices, and primary language. The presentation will address a cultural competence quality improvement model, quality measures and goals, methodology, trends in system process outcomes, and select findings of where the Massachusetts acute hospital industry is, with respect to addressing quality efforts that meet the needs of Medicaid’s culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Lessons learned from the Massachusetts experience may be useful for regulatory bodies, accreditation organizations and/or payer systems interested in monitoring accountability and maximizing service delivery effectiveness of health providers serving culturally diverse consumer groups.

Íris García.
Division of Medical Assistance
Office of Clinical Affairs
600 Washington St., 5^th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
Phone: (617) 210-5696
Fax: (617) 210-5003
igarcia@ntn.dma.state.ma.us

Íris A. García is currently a Policy Advisor to the Massachusetts Medicaid program on quality indicators for cultural competence performance in health delivery systems. She has over 16 years of work experience in cross-cultural health care in the areas of maternal and child health nutrition, reproductive technologies, AIDS, organizational development in various health care settings. Ms. García has held positions in research and policy with the McCormack Institute of Public Affairs and the Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy within the University of Massachusetts as well as the Family and Child Policy Center at Brandies University. She holds a Masters in Management in Human Services from Brandeis University and is currently completing her doctoral degree in Social Policy at the Heller Graduate School in Brandeis University.  NEXT >

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