This article explores health disparities and the effects of race and ethnicity on health care quality. It emphasizes the importance of cross-cultural training and two areas that can make a difference in delivering health care services to minorities: 1) establishing national guidelines and standards for culturally competent care; and 2) improving the healthcare educational pipeline and incorporating cultural proficiency curriculum into all medical training. Information from this article was presented during Plenary Session 1 of the Fifth Annual Primary Care and Prevention Conference, September 21, 2005.