Interprofessional Communication-A Call for More Education to Ensure Cultural Competency in the Context of Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine.

Abstract

Culturally appropriate communication between healthcare professionals and with patients is widely recognised as a cornerstone of high quality, patient-centred care. The widespread use of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) necessitates that patient-centre communication and cultural competency in healthcare extends beyond race, ethnicity, and languages spoken to also include an awareness of, and respect for the diverse range of healthcare practices, paradigms, and lexicons that patients and practitioners use. Education can equip practitioners with the necessary communication skills and expand their knowledge about the therapies and practices that patients are accessing. In this viewpoint essay, we aim to 1) emphasise the importance of respectful, culturally competent interprofessional communication and collaboration that mutually supports patients’ care needs; 2) note the impact of a political agenda that perpetuates medical hegemony and has discriminated against, and marginalised TCIM practitioners and the people who use these services; and 3) highlight the importance of educational initiatives that support inclusive, culturally competent, interprofessional communication and collaboration between conventional and TCIM healthcare practitioners.