Aetna Launches Tools To Improve Cross-Cultural Awareness, Communication Among Health Care Providers
Aetna offers health care providers access to online cultural awareness courses
HARTFORD, Conn., November 17, 2006 — Aetna (NYSE: ΑET) announced today that it is offering health care providers, including physicians and nurses, and its internal clinical employees free access to the online, evidence-based courses, Quality Interactions: a Patient-Based Approach to Cross-Cultural Care®. The e-learning program now is available to network providers, and nonparticipating providers who have filed a claim with Aetna, and offers case-based instruction on cross-cultural health care. Physicians and nurses completing the courses can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits respectively.
The courses are part of a new package of tools available on Aetna’s website for health care professionals. Other materials aimed at enhancing the medical community’s skills for treating diverse populations include a physician-focused video, "Crossing the Health Care Gap," and Spanish-language patient education brochures on diabetes, cholesterol, medications, and patient safety that can be downloaded and printed.
"The evidence is compelling. Aetna must continue to build bridges with the medical community, and the private and public sectors, to reduce the racial and ethnic gaps that pervade health care today," said Troy Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Aetna’s chief medical officer. In 2003, Aetna was the first national health benefits company to launch an integrated strategy to improve the quality of care for racial and ethnic minorities.
Studies show that racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than non-minorities, even when insurance status, income, age and severity of conditions are comparable.
Aetna recognizes the critical need for its own staff to be culturally competent and was the first national health plan to offer the courses to its employees. Since 2003, the company has mandated completion of the Quality Interactions cross-cultural training for its internal clinical staff. New Aetna clinical employees are asked to take the full course within three months of hire. In addition, staff completing the original two-hour course will be offered a shorter, refresher course in 2007.
Quality Interactions was developed by the Manhattan Cross Cultural Group. This interactive program focuses on common clinical and/or cross-cultural scenarios that build a framework of knowledge and skills for delivering quality care to diverse patient populations.
Since 2002, Aetna has worked with organizations in communities across the country to increase cultural competency among physicians. The company introduced a Cultural Diversity Kit to help physicians in target markets better meet the needs of their Latino/Hispanic patients with diabetes, and has held various symposiums and educational programs, in addition to distributing CME booklets, brochures and other materials.
Aetna’s groundbreaking work to address ethnic and racial health care disparities includes voluntary data collection of race, ethnicity and language-preference data from its members, which allowed the company to create culturally focused information and disease management and wellness programs; identify disparities; support and encourage new research; and test new approaches to reducing disparities in health care.
The company recently was awarded the prestigious "Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Award" by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its efforts in capturing race/ethnicity and language preference data. This data enables Aetna to reach across cultural divides and provide members with access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services.
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 29.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans and government-sponsored plans. www.aetna.com
To view the ’Closing the Health Care Gap’ video, please visit Aetna’s website for health care professionals at: http://www.aetna.com/provider/diversity_in_healthcare.html
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