Cultural Competence Considerations for Health-System Pharmacists

Purpose: An introduction to cultural competency is provided for health system pharmacists, including communication tools and considerations to personalize care for diverse patient populations. Summary: Disparities in patient outcomes, health care utilization, and treatment adherence exist across diverse patient populations in the United States. Cultural competence of health system pharmacists is important to optimize medication use in diverse patient populations. The LARA (Listen, Affirm, Respond, and Add) methodology, Kleinman’s explanatory model, and the teach-back method are communication tools to facilitate culturally integrated discussions with patients. Health system pharmacists should be cognizant of cultural considerations that may emphasize spiritual care, nonpharmacologic therapy, patient privacy, and potential distrust of health care professionals. Conclusion: Health system pharmacists should strive to increase awareness of the impact that cultural beliefs and traditions have on patient care.