Integrated Measures of Health Literacy, Language Access, and Cultural Competency Would Improve Health Care Quality and Value.

Improving health care quality and value requires increased attention to patient and family-centeredness as well as care equity. Although health literacy, language access, and cultural competency have been perceived as separate constructs. each represents a dimension of patient and family-centeredness and care equity. Developing and using integrated measures of health literacy, language access, and cultural competency could provide a viable strategy to improve patient and family-centeredness and equity in health care. While there are challenges to the development and use of integrated measures, some responsive strategies include: using more patient, family and caregiver-reported information; utilizing patient demographic data from electronic health records; and incorporating the latter elements within measures of patient experience. Integrated quality measures also create opportunities for collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and for health care delivery innovation.