Abstract

In this issue of the Southern Medical Journal, Vidaeff and colleagues address the challenges the medical profession face in caring for patients from diverse cultures and backgrounds.¹ They nicely identify issues of cultural differences—from the perspective of both the patient and the physician—that may, and likely do, affect patient–physician communication, cause barriers to accessing health care, and decrease the effectiveness of clinical decision making and therapeutic interventions. As the authors point out, patient demographics across the United States have dramatically changed in recent decades, and every physician faces the challenge of relating to patients of varying cultural backgrounds and beliefs.