Below is a selection of articles from American Medical News on issues related to culturally effective health care.

Avenues explored for improving health literacy
By Susan J. Landers
AMNews, Dec. 17, 2007

States, CME incorporating cultural competency training
By Myrle Croasdale
AMNews, July 16, 2007

California to track, post doctors' race, languages spoken
By Damon Adams
AMNews, October 23/30, 2006

Hospital study says interpreters can improve care
By Damon Adams
AMNews, September 18, 2006

Regardless of how it's taught, doctors gain knowledge and skills through educational interventions, researchers say
By Myrle Croasdale
AMNews, June 20, 2005

New commission targets health care disparities
By Susan J. Landers
AMNews, February 21, 2005

Quality agency, insurers fight ethnic care gap
By Andis Robeznieks
AMNews, January 3/10, 2005

Study details gap in death rate by race; health care disparities blamed
By Andis Robeznieks
AMNews, December 20, 2004

New drug combo intensifies race-based medicine debate
By Susan J. Landers
AMNews, December 6, 2004

Group offers ways to close medicine's diversity gap
By Myrle Croasdale
AMNews, October 11, 2004

Florida launches minority physician mentoring program
By Damon Adams
AMNews, October 11, 2004

Doctors face disparities in care of blacks
Black leaders say a new study confirms their belief that the health care system fails to provide minorities with quality treatment.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, September 6, 2004

Report urges racial, cultural diversity in medicine
Policy changes should include incentives for delivering high-quality care to minority patients, a new study says.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, August 9, 2004

Treating the neighborhood: A family physician serves an underserved community
Michael Malone, DO, cares for residents of two inner-city Chicago areas, inside and outside the exam room.
By Tanya Albert
AMNews, April 26, 2004

Zero tolerance for disparity begins with primary care
By Edmond Blum, MD
AMNews, Feb. 9, 2004

Politics charged in disparities report
Trying to stay above the fray, a former AMA president, Alan Nelson, MD, says health care disparities exist and must be confronted.
By Andis Robeznieks
AMNews, Feb. 2, 2004

Disparities in care still undercut quality progress
Increasing trust and building a "medical home" are proposed fixes to quality and disparity problems.
By Andis Robeznieks
AMNews, Jan. 19, 2004

Patients say best doctors are ones who look like them
Maybe it's bias. Or maybe it's comfort. A new study says patients are more likely to prefer and recommend a physician of the same race.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, Jan. 12, 2004

Diversifying medicine: The time is now
The medical profession should view health care disparities as a health care quality issue.
Editorial. Nov. 17, 2003

Most in U.S. see disparities in care of minority patients
A majority of Hispanics cite language as a barrier to medical care while blacks and other minorities blame discrimination.
By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli
AMNews, Oct. 20, 2003

HHS eases interpreter mandate but doctors must pay the bills
New guidance on serving patients with limited English skills grants physicians more flexibility.
By Markian Hawryluk
AMNews, Oct. 13, 2003

Experiences affect African-Americans' choice of doctor
One in five black patients prefers to see a black physician, a new study said.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, Sept. 8, 2003

California legislation addresses doctors' cultural competency
The bill would give local medical societies the guidelines necessary to develop CME-eligible coursework.
By Myrle Croasdal
AMNews, July 28, 2003

Doctors use new cues to get patient history
Communication techniques can lead to a better understanding of the patient perspective, and, therefore, strengthen the physician-patient relationship.
By Victoria Stagg Elliott
AMNews, June 23, 2003

Doctors divided over use of affirmative action by medical schools
If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down racial preferences, fewer minority students may get into medical school.
By Myrle Croasdale
AMNews, June 2/9, 2003

Patients need clear messages to navigate medicine's maze
Experts on health literacy say that condensing medical advice to a few simple instructions may be the best way to reach patients.
By Susan J. Landers
AMNews, May 26, 2003

Health disparities plague minority men
New public health initiatives are aimed at drawing males, especially those who are minorities, into the health care fold.
By Susan J. Landers
AMNews, May 19, 2003

Time to focus on care disparities
Many minority Americans receive lower quality health care than their white counterparts; physicians have an important role to play in ending that difference.
Editorial. Apr. 14, 2003

Creativity needed to reach minority elderly
Projects across the country are using innovative approaches to convince older Asian-, Hispanic- and African-Americans to get their flu and pneumonia shots.
By Victoria Stagg Elliott
AMNews, Apr. 14, 2003

Strong presence: Greater diversity in medicine
Asian-American women are increasingly becoming a force in the medical community.
AMNews, Mar. 10, 2003

Minority physicians encourage the next generation
A message to all physicians from J. Edward Hill, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees.
AMNews, Mar. 3, 2003

Mistaken translations can cause trouble
Language barriers are seen as a huge potential source of medical errors for the 19 million English-deficient residents of the United States.
By Andis Robeznieks
AMNews, Jan. 27, 2003

Minority mistrust still haunts medical care
Physicians are urged to work harder to earn trust from minority patients.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, Jan. 13, 2003

NMA, AMA, other groups launch initiative to cut health care disparities
A review of medical studies shows racial and ethnic differences in cardiac care.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, Oct. 28, 2002

Doctors hope to inspire by school visits
Telling today's minority students about the medical profession could help make them tomorrow's physicians.
By Damon Adams
AMNews, April 15, 2002

AMA: Doctors shouldn't pay for translators
Interpreters' fees often exceed Medicaid payments for office visits.
By Markian Hawryluk
AMNews, January 14, 2002

Making Medicare color-blind: How groups are striving for equality in care 
Racial health inequities are well-documented in Medicare, but peer review organizations are working to even the score.
By Geri Aston
AMNews, December 3, 2001

Old town, nuevos patients: Small-town doctors treating influx of Hispanic immigrants 
New populations are changing the face of rural communities and changing the way physicians practice.
By Bob Cook
AMNews, October 1, 2001

IOM panel wrestles with racial, ethnic disparities in care 
Medical and legal experts are assessing differences in care, exploring what causes these differences and offering policy, practice recommendations to address them.
By Stephanie Stapleton
AMNews, September 24, 2001

Minority physicians struggle to get care for their patients 
Clout, proximity, discrimination are cited as some of the factors.
By Damon Adams
AMNews,September 3, 2001

Cultural competency critical in elder care 
The need to address disparities in treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases increases as the percentage of minorities in the elderly population increases.
By Victoria Stagg Elliott
AMNews, August 6, 2001

Trips abroad offer more than CME credit 
Physicians earn continuing medical education credits by traveling to foreign countries and gaining cultural experiences they can translate to their practices.
By Jay Greene 
AMNews, July 23, 2001 

Medical interpreter rule to get further study from AMA board 
Doctors need translators to communicate with non-English-speaking patients but question who makes the best interpreters and who should pay for them.
By Tanya Albert
AMNews, July 9/16, 2001

No to translators, yes to lessons on how to speak English 
"Am I the only one who is politically incorrect enough to be unable to see why doctors should have to pay so that immigrants can more easily access free government services?"
Letter to the Editor
AMNews, June 18, 2001 

Better interpretation is just a phone call away 
Physicians and hospitals are turning to telephone interpreter services to comply with HHS regulations and work effectively in multicultural markets.
By Julie A. Jacob
AMNews, June 11, 2001 

It pays to listen: The importance of doctor-patient communication 
Across the country, physicians are meeting in groups to figure out how to communicate better with patients -- or risk having them walking out of their practice forever.
By Cheryl Jackson
AMNews, May 21, 2001

Medical interpreter rule faces review, legislative challenge 
Some physicians view the policy as an unfunded mandate, but others see it as necessary to providing good care for non-English-speaking patients.
By Tanya Albert 
AMNews, May 21, 2001 

Doctors can deliver hope as well as facts of prognosis 
By Julia Schopick
AMNews, March 12, 2001

Buddhist center draws focus to patients' diverse beliefs 
Physicians need to be sensitive to the faith-held beliefs of their patients, especially to how these precepts may influence a patient's understanding of illness.
By Vida Foubister
AMNews, March 5, 2001

Requests by patients can put doctors in ethical bind 
When confronted with patient demands that can result in discrimination, physicians can look to their hospital ethics committee for help in making a decision
By Vida Foubister
AMNews, January 22, 2001