To achieve health equity, culturally relevant care must be the standard of care

<p>"Practicing culturally relevant care means we can account for the social determinants of health, barriers to access, and the emotional disconnect that results from the status quo, one-size-fits-all approach many patients have come to expect. It helps us reach into underserved communities and lift them up, which is essential during a pandemic that disproportionately affects low-income and diverse Americans.</p> <p>If we, as clinicians, can align around the fact that we exist to serve all patients, we must realize that culturally relevant care is more than a situational deviation from the norm. Rather, it must represent the new normal—the new standard of care."</p> <p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vikrambakhru/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vik Bakhru</a> is a clinician and health care executive.</p> <p>He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/to-achieve-health-equity-we-must-make-culturally-relevant-care-the-standard-of-care.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">To achieve health equity, we must make culturally relevant care the standard of care</a>." (<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/to-achieve-health-equity-we-must-make-culturally-relevant-care-the-standard-of-care.html">https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/to-achieve-health-equity-we-must-make-culturally-relevant-care-the-standard-of-care.html</a>)</p>