Fixing healthcare needs inclusive innovation and cultural intelligence
Lili Gil Valletta
Chief Executive Officer | Cultural Intelligence? Expert | Inc. 5000 | Board Director (NASDAQ: ZUMZ, BVC: RCNTELEVI) | TED Speaker| TV Commentator | Founder
The healthcare debate needs inclusion- 40% of patients get up to 40% worse outcomes
By the year 2040 we will be a majority minority nation. Black-Americans and Hispanics represent 40% of the population and they are also the segments driving most of America's population growth, yet are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases. Unless our solutions to healthcare are inclusive, the country's shifting demographics combined with chronic disease prevalence and healthcare disparities will compound as a bigger and more costly issue. Despite increased access to healthcare a study by RWJ reports that they get 30-40% worse outcomes. This concerning issue is further explained by a Forbes article boldly titled, Why Health Care Is Different If You're Black, Latino Or Poor"
This is not altruistic mission but ought to be disrupted as an American priority. There is enough data and evidence to back it up in numbers; if the segments of the American population who represent all the patient growth are unhealthier, then America will just continue to exponentially grow unhealthier and costly for all. It is simple, without cultural intelligence any approach to "fix" healthcare will fall short. Cultural intelligence is the ability to be aware of, understand and apply cultural competence into every day decisions and solutions.
What are you doing to bring cultural intelligence and inclusion into the healthcare debate and solutions? Is cultural intelligence part of everything you do?
It is mathematically impossible for us to tackle America's healthcare challenges without integrating inclusive solutions that address social determinants of health, introducing incentives for prevention, care-coordination and healthy living, rethinking paths to access, considering value-based models and driving inclusion all the way from clinical trials to patient delivery. There is a reason why HHS and the Office of Minority Health have designated April as Minority Health Month. This commemorative month is a time to learn more about the health status of racial and ethnic minority populations in the U.S. The theme for 2018 is Partnering for Health Equity which highlights partnerships at the federal, state, local, tribal and territorial levels that help reduce disparities in health and health care.
The Hard Truth: U.S. Healthcare Ranks Last
The Commonwealth Fund has rated the U.S. health care system as the worst among the 11 developed nations it analyzed as part of an evaluation conducted every three years. The think tank also rated the U.S. health care system as the worst-performing of the nations analyzed; the UK ranks #1. This is particularly distressing when considering how much more America spends on health care relative to other nations. Healthy lives, which ties to solutions related to preventative care and focusing on the segments greatly affected by chronic disease and equity all point to the need for inclusive innovation and disruption in thee sector.
Read more from U.S. News here.
This is why we do what we do with our team at CIEN+ and Culturintel bringing AI-powered market research and patient insights, strategies, and cross-cultural marketing to activate the power of cultural intelligence for innovation and growth.
Cybersecurity Analyst
5 年At the European/French-based Jesuit schools that I went to in Haiti, we learned that it was part of the economy of Haiti that at very young age kids should understand physiology (how the human body works) so we don't waste $$ in hospitals because medications don't cure; so we were taught healthful practice i.e: don't drink coca-cola and coffee (although they're vegan), don't use anti-perspirant deodorant, don't eat between meals, eat two meals a day when you can, exercise daily, eat whole food plant-based (when affordable), have regularity in diet,?don't eat sweets due to body-tooth connection, don't eat late night, and so on....while it's true that medications are indispensable for some diseases, but a change towards a healthy lifestyle can yield optimum outcomes while taking the meds. But unfortunately, that's not the system in the US....I usually recommend to doctors/pharmacists this book at the Library of Congress called "Ministry of Healing". It's a life-changing book for many patients seeking healing.