Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals

Communication is the cornerstone of patient safety. However, direct patient-provider communication for many individuals can be affected by language, cultural, and health literacy needs. One of the goals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy includes promoting changes in the health care system that improve communication and informed decisionmaking. The Joint Commission has made several efforts to better understand individual patients' communication needs and to provide guidance for organizations working to address those needs. In January 2010, The Joint Commission released a set of new standards for patient-centered communication as part of an initiative to advance effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care. These standards are designed to improve the safety and quality of care for all patients and to inspire hospitals to adopt practices promoting better communication and patient engagement. The patient-centered communication standards highlight issues such as identifying and addressing the patient's oral and written communication needs and including data on communication needs in the patient's medical record. In addition, The Joint Commission released the guidance monograph Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals, which provides recommendations to help hospitals address unique patient needs, meet the new patient-centered communication standards, and comply with related Joint Commission requirements. Lessons learned from the integration of health literacy into clinical practice and policy may help public health agencies and professionals create and implement policies addressing population health communications