In: Nursing
for hospitals and healthcare institutions ensuring that patient receive proper care takes more than performing procedures and making diagnosis. Communication is a crucial component in all steps of healthcare process.whether it be a clinic accurately sharing patient information with another facility for a group of doctors nurses specialist and other staff at a hospital discussing how to treat current and incoming patients the need for concise effective communication is always present in health field.
organisation with strong communication policies can and their patient's health while those that don't have a effective procedures in place can negatively impact patient wellbeing. healthcare professionals and institutions need to organise the importance of communication in healthcare in order to thrive
How better communication practices are beneficial
poor communication has been a factor in 1744 patient death and over 1.7 billion in malpractice cost nationally in the past 5 years according to a study published in Fierce healthcare. This shows that better communication methods would benefit both patients and healthcare providers. Effective communication both Intra hospital and inter hospital is important for healthcare providers to protect their patients, save on costs, and increase date today operating efficiency.mean by patient benefit from increased access to their medical histori which reduces chances of medical errors.
Focus on patient safety.
When considering the importance of communication in healthcare, patient safety is one of the top reasons to create communication structure in any healthcare organisation. Inadequate communication is often leading to cause of in-hospital deaths. Main patient death caused by communication errors are preventable.the fact alone is one of the most important reasons why communication is so important for the patient safety.
Inter hospital and intra hospital communication
there are two types of communication methods that healthcare institutions use that crucial to patient safety and well-being inter hospital and intra hospital
Inter hospital
inter hospital communication involve information sharing among multiple sites or institutions.this include transmission between facilities owned by the same organisation and between completely separate healthcare entities.moving patients from one place to another s,medical records ,and transporting vital medical equipments, all require clear communication between sites.however hospitals of an encounter obstacles in communicating effectively with one another.
Intra hospital
Problems with communication also occur among personal within the same hospital.intra hospital communication is any information sharing with singular institution .whether it involves coordinating room charges, scheduling surgeries, assigning for the tests, or even setting up appointments.when doctors,staff and patients are not effectively sharing information,the efficiency of each process may decrease potentially resulting in unnecessary cause or even danger to patients.
Common communication methods
Each healthcare system has multiple forms of communication that administrators and staff must be trained to use properly and efficiently.when even one of those communication methods fails, patient safety can be put at risk. A minor printing mistake could leads to incorrect dosages or incomplete information make it a doctor from knowing about crucial allergy. Understanding how standard communication methods work is the first step in ensuring that hospital is running as smoothly as possible for both the patients and hospital Sake.