Lack Of Communication In Health Care

Communicate is essential in health and social care settings because without a good communication to patients, families, colleagues and management is very difficult to deliver good service of care.

In this scenario the nurse is and can be faced with having to communicate with any given person on staff to ensure appropriate quality care. Being part of the interdisciplinary healthcare team and learning how to communicate effectively within this team and encourage others to do the same is one of the many vital responsibilities that a nurse must be able to handle well.

According to Barry (2014), the Joint Commission has acknowledged the severity of complications associated with communication mistakes, for as much as 70% of adverse medical events, 75% of which lead to patient death, are a result of communication breakdowns. Barry (2014) also states that instances of miscommunication cause over two-thirds of adverse effects among patients. As noted by Malekzadeh, Mazluom, Etezadi, and Alireza (2013), as much as 69% of medical errors are preventable in nature and the fact that these issues still plague the field of healthcare in the 21st century is quite perplexing. Therefore, it is the goal of this charter to identify means and ways in which hand-off discrepancies may be minimized and further eliminated, by implementing a tool that will drastically decrease the percentage of handoff errors resulting from a breakdown of communication.

Effective communication is one of the utmost characteristics of a high-quality health care model that responds to the existing needs of the general population. However, communication may sometimes be taken for granted and therefore fail to relay important information between health care providers within the interprofessional team. In today’s health care setting, communication is particularly challenging due to the limited time constrain in the workplace. In spite of the utilization of existing charts and documentation, errors are made. In this paper, a real life clinical scenario is discussed which involved a breakdown of

“Errors in communication give rise to substantial clinical morbidity and mortality (Riesenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010).” As a result, the Joint Commission has identified effective communication as one of its National Patient Safety Goals (Dunsford, 2009).

A weakness in communication between interdisciplinary team members can impact patient safety and health . A recent study revealed that out of all the claims analyzed , 57 percent of malpractice cases reflected miscommunication between two or more healthcare providers (Riah, 2015). In fact, the same communication failures directly linked to 1,744 deaths over the past five years (Budryk, 2016). During my clinical placement this semester I have witnessed the overwhelming number of health care team members that are involved in each patient’s care. I also take part in morning nursing rounds where all nurses are updated on every patient’s status. Transmission of permanent patient information is also relayed to all members of the health team via the patient chart .Here , interdisciplinary notes all come together to form updated health information on patients. However, although I have read interdisciplinary notes from all team members , I rarely have had the opportunity to personally communicate with members other than doctors and nurses. Personal communication allows for a team member to pass on relevant information in a timely manner without the possibility or misinterpretations. When communication is strictly done non-verbally, it is impossible to ask any questions.. This is why communication between professionals in health care is essential for patient safety and improved quality of care (Koivunen, Niemi., & Hupli,2015). There are 3 main factors that cause miscommunication

‘Clear and complete communication between health care providers is a prerequisite for safe patient management. Which is a major priority of the Joint Commission's 2008 National Patient Safety Goals and long-term care (LCT). (Commission, 2008)

How we communicate effects everything we do. Whether talking to patients and family members, speaking in a team meeting, or talking with our children’s teacher at a conference, communication is how we learn information, teach information and express our concerns. With this paper I will discuss; the definitions of healthcare communication, the relevancy of effective personal healthcare communication with other healthcare professionals, clients, and patients, the relevancy of effective professional healthcare

“Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to open good communication with the patient, he or she may be of no help” (Asnani, MR. 2009). Effective communication plays a big role in healthcare and contributes to the quality of patient care and teamwork.

As a nurse when it comes to decision-making, focusing on the values and goals of the patient to prevent family conflicts. Besides that, there are several other factors that can raise conflicts such as team conflicts from not communicating well, poor quality care due to lack of knowledge or from not following the procedures, lastly, more importantly medical errors. Based on recent studies, medical errors are one of the leading causes of death in the United States; therefore, I choose to create my dilemma based on medical errors that occur in hospitals and their main causes. Common reasons why they occur are first because of failure to communicate or unclear orders. Communication is extremely important in a healthcare setting because poor communication skills can result in misunderstanding or cause you to make mistakes which can put patients’ health in jeopardy.

The Hospital environment can offer some practical challenges that could be barriers in communications. Many patients have individual needs and this can impede on a nurses time and emotions. Nurses put in long hours and have a high patient/nurse ratio or shortage of healthcare workers. Nurses/personnel have to deal with emergencies in an already challenging and busy hospital setting. Dealing with patients takes mental acuity and emotional support and sensitivity. Hospital guidelines might not have sufficient communication practices among personnel in place.

As a nursing student at the University of Miami, I am extremely thrilled to finish my degree and move on towards getting my certification as a Nurse Practitioner. When it comes to the medical field, I was always aware that it would not be an easy career path but I knew it would be worth it and was constantly reminded that by my family members who themselves are in the medical field. In addition, while communication is essential in all careers, it is exceedingly crucial in the career of nursing. Throughout the hospital, there are separate units in which the medical staff must be communicating effectively in order to have a smoothly operating hospital. With having a well-organized and structured hospital, this also decreases the risk of medical errors made by the lack of communication between nurses and physicians.

Communication plays a vital role in the healthcare setting, as the relationship with the healthcare professional sets the tone of the care experience and has a powerful impact on patient satisfaction. It is “the shared process in which messages are sent and received between two or more people which are made up of a sender, receiver, and message in a particular context” (cite, date). This essay highlights the importance of, and some common barriers to, effective communication in the healthcare setting. It involves many interpersonal skills such as effective observation, questioning and listening, giving feedback, recognizing and removing barriers.

I believe that in order for health care administrators to give awesome communication to their employees that they must conduct meetings. I think that bi-weekly meetings should be held but when you are dealing with health care that’s too frequently based on the fast pace of it. As a health care administrator I would make it my job to hold a monthly meeting so that I can keep an open line of communication between my employers and me. For this meeting I will give a presentation that will explain all things new or changing within the facility. Before the meeting end it will be known that anyone can

Poor communication puts patients in danger because it can lead to medical errors and adverse events. For example, a medication error can occur if a physician’s orders are not updated in time or if the outgoing nurse does not provide the correct time in which a dose was administered last. Thus it is crucial to communicate any recent treatment that has been implemented. In this way, nurses and physicians can facilitate the prevention of errors. Another consequence of ineffective communication is that it can decrease morale and increase work-related stress among members of the healthcare team. If nurses and physicians are not understanding each other’s actions, conflict ensues. It can cause toxic interpersonal relationships. This, in turn, will affect the level of patient care because it is difficult to focus amidst emotional strain and