By Nancy Xugf
The Healthcare x Healthtech conference was with the goal of bridging the gap between
healthcare and technology. In the organization’s own words: “Healthcare x Healthtech creates an
environment for healthcare and tech professionals to learn, network, and innovate together”.
Prior to the event, I had noted down the panels which involved access and rehabilitation in order
to write a post-event analysis focused on how to further study and remedy the structural biases
within healthcare, an iatrogenic form of harm that vulnerable communities experience when
seeking care. My concern is that could potentially have been reproduced within health
technology if they were not consciously addressed. My question was, what specific frameworks
for intercultural competence or lack thereof can be remedied by the inclusion of diverse
perspectives, especially given the dated and inconsistent usage of technology in healthcare
training and education?
As a student connected with SSD who has worked with Oakland County Health Network as a
Recipient Rights Intern, specifically relating to work with marginalized and vulnerable Oakland
County members, I believe technology in the globalized healthcare field is both a solution, and a
new set of challenges.
The BLI supported this leadership development initiative and offered me a chance to expand my
understanding of this interdisciplinary field, and learn about the BLI habit of Valuing Difference.
Without the goal of active listening, interactions within healthcare or services provided for those
of different backgrounds result in variances of health service delivery, which result in suboptimal
treatment and worse health outcomes.
As an advocate for disability health equity, I am grateful for the opportunity presented by the
Barger Leadership Institute, to learn how an integrative framework of intercultural competence
can improve health care services as well as the new challenges they may bring. I attended in
connection with the Barger Leadership Certificate program, as a student studying the topic of
accessibility and equity in healthcare.
