Cultural differences can shape how comfortable patients feel asking questions or speaking up, meaning a patient who smiles, nods and says “yes” may not fully understand what they have been asked to do or agree with what they have been told. 

At the 2026 AAPM National Conference in Brisbane, intercultural business consultant Craig Shim, from Alphacrane Intercultural Specialists, will explore how those differences can influence everyday patient interactions and how practice teams can communicate with greater clarity, awareness and sensitivity. 

Shim says the biggest cultural differences are often not the obvious ones. Beyond language barriers, patients can differ in how readily they ask questions, challenge recommendations, involve family members or explain what they need from a service. 

Silence or agreement, for example, does not always signal understanding. A patient may avoid asking questions because they see a staff member as an authority figure, while behaviours such as limited eye contact, directness or arriving with several family members can be interpreted very differently across cultures.