California Medical Association (CMA) Announces New Standards for Cultural and Linguistic Competency and Implicit Bias in CME

The goal of the standards is to support the role of accredited CME in advancing diversity, health equity, and inclusion in healthcare. The standards are intended to support CME providers in meeting the expectations of the legislation. CME provider organizations physically located in California and accredited by CMA CME or ACCME, as well as jointly accredited providers whose target audience includes physicians, are expected to meet these expectations beginning January 1, 2022.

These links will take you directly to the new legislation: AB1195 and AB241.

The California Medical Association’s continuing medical education team has updated cultural and linguistic competency (CLC) standards and created standards for implicit bias (IB) that reduce health disparities, as well as comply with state law. Listed below are the updated definitions provided by CMA.

CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCY (CLC): The ability and readiness of health care providers and organizations to humbly and respectfully demonstrate, effectively communicate, and tailor delivery of care to patients with diverse values, beliefs, identities and behaviors, in order to meet social, cultural and linguistic needs as they relate to patient health.

IMPLICITY BIAS (IB): The attitudes, stereotypes and feelings, either positive or negative, that affect our understanding, actions and decisions without conscious knowledge or control. Implicit bias is a universal phenomenon. When negative, implicit bias often contributes to unequal treatment and disparities in diagnosis, treatment decisions, levels of care and health care outcomes of people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and other characteristics.

DIVERSITY: Having many different forms, types or ideas; showing variety. Demographic diversity can mean a group composed of people of different genders, races/ethnicities, cultures, religions, physical abilities, sexual orientations or preferences, ages, etc.

The California Medical Association’s CME resources are available.

Additional Resources

• ACCME Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources
• Health Equity Education Center
• Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review
• Implicit Bias: Recognizing the Unconscious Barriers to Quality Care and Diversity in Medicine
• Systemic Racism and Implicit Bias in Nutrition and Dietetics, written by Stephanie Carter, MS, RDN (published on Stone Soup)
• Confronting Implicit Bias — The Key to Equitable Diabetes Care and Outcomes, written by Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN (published in Today’s Dietitian)
• Learning to Address Implicit Bias Towards LGBTQ+ Patients: Case Scenarios, National LGBT Health Education Center
• The Role of Social Cognition in Medical Decision Making with Asian American Patients, written by I. Ho and J. Lawrence (published in the Journal of Racial Ethn Health Disparities)
• Race and Diabetes: Are Minorities Getting the Care They Deserve? written by Mila Clarke Buckley (published in Healthline)
• Creating an Anti-Ageist Healthcare System to Improve Care for Our Current and Future Selves, written by Sharon Inouye (published in Mature Aging)