Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the
United States. While patient safety
efforts have gained momentum over the years, we still have a long way to go.
One important area of patient safety for healthcare administrators to consider
is effective communication.
Where should communication efforts focus? Patient safety improves when we improve both
staff communication and patient/healthcare professional communication. Some barriers to affective communication
include:
Environmental:
1. Competition for
time – healthcare professionals are pressed for time in many ways. Productivity requirements, multi-tasking, and
emergencies can create stressful environments that reduce effective
communication.
2. Competition for
attention – we live in a fast-paced world where technology often competes for
personal attention. Managing the use of
technology can impact the ability to be an effective listener.
3. Managerial
philosophy – administrators set the tone
for proper communication in the healthcare environment.
Personal
1. Socioeconomic
background – various backgrounds can result in communication breakdowns. Healthcare professionals and patients do not
always come from the same background, which creates a rift in contextual
knowledge.
2. Previous
experiences – patients with negative previous experiences in healthcare
settings might have difficulty with trust, which can result in a lack of proper
communication
3. Cultural
background – healthcare providers in diverse communities face cultural
differences that can cause communication breakdowns.
4. Language
Differences – lack of trained interpreters can result in communication
difficulties.
5. Sensory Issues –
vision difficulties and hearing loss impact the ability to communicate properly
with patients.
What can we do to improve overall communication in the
healthcare setting? Consider the above
list of barriers and choose one or two that is a critical issue in your
healthcare setting. Brainstorm ways to
improve communication efforts and implement one or two new policies at a
time. Be sure to keep the new initiative
as simple as possible. After a set
amount of time, evaluate the new policy to see if it had an adverse or positive
impact on overall communication efforts.
Eliciting feedback from both staff and patients is the best indicator of
overall improvements.
For more information, please see:
Contributed by Valerie Connor, MA CCC-SLP; MS CHES, Faculty at Saint Joseph's College
