Tools and Education

Cultural Competency

Cultural competency
When we think of culture, we might first think of race or ethnicity. But culture means much more than that. It’s a major factor in how people respond to health services. And it affects their approach to coping with illness, getting care and working toward recovery.
Patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes are linked to good communication between members and providers. Each segment of our population requires special sensitivities and strategies to embrace cultural differences. Culturally competent providers:

Effectively communicate with patients
Understand their individual concerns
Ensure patients understand their care plans

Complete the training

You’ll want to complete a short training about cultural competency. Take these quick steps:

1. Complete this 7-minute video training about How Effective Healthcare Communication Contributes to Health Equity.
2. Then, email us to confirm you’ve completed the training. Once we receive your email, we can give you credit for completing the training on this topic.

How health literacy affects cultural competency
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Title V, defines health literacy as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions.

In short, how well can patients find, understand and use information to make good decisions? Anyone who provides health info and services to others also needs health literacy skills to:

Help people find info and services
Communicate about health and health care
Process what people are explicitly and implicitly asking for
Understand how to provide useful info and services
Decide which info and services work best for different situations and people, so they can act in their own best interest

First-Tier, Downstream and Related Entities (FDR) Training

If you are a participating provider in our network, and you have not already done so, you and your staff must complete the Medicare Compliance FDR Attestation.

CMS Requirements for Downstream Entities
Who Should Complete FDR Training?
FAQs
Offshore Services Attestation (PDF)
CMS MLN Fraud, Waste and Abuse Training
OIG Exclusion List
FDR Program Guide

Please visit the Aetna Medicare FDR Resource page to review the most recent newsletter.

Provider Orientation

Critical Incident Overview

Cultural Competency Training

Communication methods/language assistance

Whether it's a routine visit or you’re prescribing a long-term treatment plan, language shouldn’t be a barrier. That’s why we offer interpretation services in multiple languages, free of charge to help our members.

If you have a patient who is an Aetna member and does not speak English, we can help find a telephone or sign language interpreter at no cost to you or your patient. You can also use our interpretation line for real-time translation services during a member’s visit.

If you have an Aetna member who need translation services, ask them to call Member Services 1-866-600-2139.

Provider Office Hours

Get support and stay up to date on the latest information by attending one of our office hours. We hold office hours every two weeks (Wednesdays, 1PM CST) for a one-hour review session.

Upcoming office hours dates and times:

How to reserve your spot:

To reserve your spot, email us and include this information:

Subject line: Registering for Office Hours Aetna Medicare FIDE (HMO D-SNP) (IL FIDE)
The name of the representative attending the call
Group name
Your Tax ID number
Your email address