The AHA today expressed its support for the National Quality Forum’s proposed endorsement of a framework and preferred practices for measuring and reporting culturally competent care. “We agree that the domains of the framework – leadership; integration into management systems and operations; patient-provider communication; care delivery and supporting mechanisms; workforce diversity and training; community engagement; and data collection, public accountability, and quality improvement – delineate the core competencies of culturally competent care,” AHA said in a comment letter. The letter also applauds NQF’s proposed endorsement of the Health Research & Educational Trust Disparities Toolkit to collect race, ethnicity and primary language data from patients. “Without accurate information, we cannot begin to determine what disparities in care may exist,” AHA said. The toolkit was developed with support from national experts and has been extensively tested in hospitals. HRET is an AHA affiliate.