Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
An article about the importance of communication in healthcare
An article about the importance of communication in healthcare
Essays about communications in health care
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Inefficient communication between Health Care Providers
The poorly organized health care system is raising numerous concerns in the nation and problems with cost, quality, and access is leading topics for public discussions today. Currently, enormously complex issues within the health care system manifesting the system deficiency in budgeting, accountability, management, and practice. The inefficient communication within the health care system is one of the core issues that are negatively influencing the access, quality, and delivery of health care. In this paper, I will briefly overview the history, existing status of the inefficient communication issue and options to resolve the substantial controversy.
Access or Equity Trend
Among various
…show more content…
The history demonstrates several examples of attempts to apply modern information technology to the healthcare system as an option to improve communication, coordination, and quality of care. The earliest government inquiries occurred in the 1960s in Kennedy Administration. The disposition was to create the modern data-processing techniques that would ‘make it possible to assemble all the necessary information about the patients in a given geographical, or an administrative are in one place with rapid access for all authorized health and welfare agencies” (Sultz, 2014, p.72). The information technology (IT) started to use in various aspects of the healthcare delivery process. Of course, the utilization of IT in health care at that time was fragmentary and required continuous to grow. The innovation and improvements continued during the Bush administration when the first step was made to create the …show more content…
A continuous flow of interruptions and fast-paced environment is affecting the ability of nurses and physicians to communicate effectively, which creates a high risk for errors. However, nurses as the last of defense can enhance the safety and prevent errors, and their roles are critical to the process of communication improvement. Implementation of different tools, such as SBAR, bedside shift reports, and safety huddles where the nurses are playing the essential role, facilitating the effective communication between nurses and patients. As an example, SBAR model is the structured format for sharing critical clinical information between any providers, where situation, background, assessment, and recommendations addressed during communication process (Cornell, P., 2014). Moreover, implementation of the daily multidisciplinary rounds, where the information shared among all members at the same time, are demonstrating improvement in communication and patients’ satisfaction, allow clarifies all necessary information, and provide feedbacks. “Rounds and bedside reporting can be key communication strategies to engage patient involvement in care and exchange information among providers and patients. Patient engagement and communication with providers can mitigate safety errors
(2014, p. 14) due to poor communication it is one of the major problems in the medical field. This is a concern that has raised within the people working in the hospital and the common people. Poor communication has been shown an increase in death in hospitals. However, the common issue is delayed communication, which may lead to the lack of safety provided to the patients. In addition, Dekker (2016, p.44) states that the main problem in the communication systems in hospitals is among physicians. This is due to the ego among the professional people, this leads to the lack of care of the patients. This lack of communication blocks the advancement of the
As a nurse, it is part of our job to communicate with doctors and those above and around us. If nurses are able to communicate effectively, the flow and shared pool of knowledge can increase a group’s ability to make better decisions and utilize all resources Whether it is avoiding the issue, lashing out in confrontation, or in a clam manner. By identifying reactions to crucial conversations, it allows for a better look at the situation and deal with it up front. These tools can also be used to look at how others will deal with a crucial conversation, and to help better a response (Maxfield et al., 2005b; Patterson et al., 2012; The Joint Commission, 2008).
Cultivating teamwork is vital in the fast-moving pace of the Emergency Department. One of the most important ways to cultivate this process is through developing a plan of communication with the team. According to L.J. Hood, communication is “…the dynamic interaction between two or more persons in which ideas, goals, beliefs and values, feelings, and feelings about feelings are exchanged. Even very brief communication exchanges may change all involved parties” (Hood, 2014, P.81). In many scenarios some nurses and staff members are unwilling to be those team players that are needed in a busy nursing unit, and many times nurses and staff will not communicate professionally at all. In these situations, some nurses and staff will require coaching sessions on how to communicate, and in worst case scenarios some nurses and staff, who are unwilling to communicate professionally, will be asked to leave the team
“Communication is the heart of nursing… your ability to use your growing knowledge and yourself as an instrument of care and caring and compassion” (Koerner, 2010, as cited in Balzer-Riley, 2012, p. 2). The knowledge base which Koerner is referring to includes important concepts such as communication, assertiveness, responsibility and caring (Balzer-Riley, 2012). Furthermore, communication is complex. It includes communication with patients, patient families, doctors, co-workers, nurse managers and many others. Due to those concepts and the variety of people involved, barriers and issues are present. Knowing how to communicate efficiently can be difficult.
Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).
The problem of poor communication stems from an environment of high stress levels. After a consulting company scrutinized processes throughout the hospital related to care coordination and patient flow, the evidence was clear. The company identified areas for improvement around communication at many different levels. In order for patients to have a seamless transition from admission to discharge, the lines of communication needed to change. Daily face-to-face meetings were productive for the staff, hospital and overall satisfaction. The consulting firm worked for the hospital for several months, but as they departed, the prior culture of poor communication started to engulf...
Communication is cited as a contributing factor in 70% of healthcare mistakes, leading to many initiatives across the healthcare settings to improve the way healthcare professionals communicate. (Kohn, 2000.)
Ritin Fernandez, Duong Tran, Maree Johnson, and Sonya Jones, in their 2010 article “Interdisciplinary communication in general medical and surgical wards using two different models of nursing care delivery” published in the Journal Of Nursing Management conducted a study to compare the effect of the Shared care in nursing (SCN) model with the existing model of patient allocation (PA) on nurses’ perception of interdisciplinary communication in general medical and surgery wards in Australia. Ineffective communication is a leading cause of patient injuries and death. From the Joint Commission, “communication breakdown was identified as the root cause of more than 60% of 2034 medical errors, of which 75% resulted in a patient’s death (Fernandez, et.al, 2010). Many of the reasons why ineffective communication even occurs could due to stressful environment in health care, a hierarchy
Communication encompasses a wide range of processes such as the exchange of information, listening, posing of questions (Fleischer et al., 2009) or use of body language. In a healthcare environment where there are constant interactions among nurses, doctors, patients and other health professionals, professional and effective communication is important in ensuring high quality healthcare standards and meeting the individual needs of patients.
Firstly, Nurses must develop the right communication tools when dealing with their patients. For example most nurses do bedside reporting, before they change their shift in the morning, therefore they would be relaying information to the other nurse about the patient they dealt with during the night. The nurse that is going off shift would give a report to the incoming nurse in the presence of the patient. He or she has to discuss the condition of the patient, medications and the procedures so the next nurse would be on the same level. Most nurses in the General Hospital do their reporting by the bedside of their patients.
The present environments for healthcare organizations contain many forces demanding unprecedented levels of change. These forces include changing demographics, increased customer outlook, increased competition, and strengthen governmental pressure. Meeting these challenges will require healthcare organizations to go through fundamental changes and to continuously inquire about new behavior to produce future value. Healthcare is an information-intensive process. Pressures for management in information technology are increasing as healthcare organizations feature to lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care. Healthcare organizations have developed better and more complex. Information technology must keep up with the dual effects of organizational complication and continuous progress in medical technology. The literature review will discuss how health care organizations can provide effective care by the intellectual use of information.
Communication in the nursing practice and in healthcare is important because when talking with patients, their families, and staff, the nurse and the nursing student needs to be able to efficiently express the information that they want the other person to understand. “Verbal communication is a primary way of transmitting vital information concerning patient issues in hospital settings” (Raica, 2009, para. 1). When proper communication skills are lacking in nursing practice, the chances of errors and risks to the patient’s safety increases. One crucial aspect of communication that affects the patient care outcome is how the nurse and the nursing student interacts and communicates with the physicians and other staff members. If the nurse is not clear and concise when relaying patient information to other members of the healthcare team the patient care may be below the expected quality.
The introduction paragraph gives information on communication and the impact that it has on patient-nurse relationships. It gives the reader an understanding of what is involved in true communication and how that it is a fundamental part of nursing and skills all nurses need. It leads those interested in delivering quality nursing to read on. Showing us the significance that communication makes in the
Robinson, F. P., Gorman, G., Slimmer, L., & Yudkowsky, R. (2010). Perceptions of effective and ineffective nurse–physician communication in hospitals.Nursing Forum, 45(3), 206-216.
From state and federal levels, the healthcare industry has come a very long way, experiencing changes along the way. The development of advanced technology that has enhanced the quality of healthcare delivery systems will help all patients to be able to benefit. Doctors are able to access patient records at a faster rate and respond to their patients in a much more timely fashion. E-mail, electronic transfer of records and telemedicine will give all patients and physicians the tools needed to be more efficient, deliver quality care and deliver quality telecommunication at a faster pace than before.