Reduce Medical Errors Through Effective Healthcare Communication

A lack of clear and effective communication between nurses and doctors causes many Medical Errors. Despite the growing number of registered nurses, the healthcare environment has not kept up with this change. The Institute for Healthcare Communication conducted a survey to discover what factors contribute to missed information among hospital patients.

The results have revealed an extremely high chance of communication breakdowns leading to improper diagnoses, medication errors, poor patient treatment, and death. These are physical, not fabricated, problems.

The research found that on average a patient is involved in ten medical errors per day. These errors include medication errors, incorrect diagnosis, improper treatment, and blood transfusions given to the wrong patient.

The survey found that most hospital patients remain in the same room or area for four to five days before they are discharged. This has led to the formation of what are known as "Perpetual Patients". These are patients who are never fully admitted or discharged from the hospital because their physicians and nurses do not communicate with each other.

There is a system in place for communication between physicians and nurses when a patient has to be transferred from one room to another. However, this system is not used very often in many hospitals. Physicians believe the paperwork is unnecessary if it does not relate to the patient's immediate health status or care.

Another problem involves how the medication is given to patients. Physicians are supposed to write detailed instructions on how much medication to give the patient, and when. However, these details are often left out of the prescription for the nurse. The nurses then have to call the physicians for clarification, which creates a time gap in which medical errors can occur.

The Institute for Healthcare Communication recommends that Physicians Burnout and nurses have to communicate more effectively with each other, both verbally and in written form. They also suggest that nurses need better training so that they can better understand each patient's medical state and needs. Lastly, they recommend that all medical records should be computerized so that they can be accessed quickly when they are needed.

The Institute for Healthcare Communication has created a code of ethics to help medical professionals train each other ineffective ways of communicating and advocating for their patients.

One way to ensure better communication between nurses and physicians is through the use of computerized medical records. This would allow physicians, nurses, and other providers to access vital information about a patient at a moment's notice. It would also allow for immediate updates to be made to a patient's care, such as changes in medications or doses.

Medical records could be accessed through computers at different locations as well. This can help eliminate the possibility of miscommunications that may occur if different people are accessing the same information at different times and locations.

This system has been put into place in some hospitals and has had great success in ensuring proper communication between nurses and physicians. A medical error strike has been averted in some hospitals because of the use of computers and electronic medical records.

The Institute for Healthcare Communication also recommends that there should be better training for all nurses and other healthcare professionals. Nurses need to learn how to communicate with each patient clearly so that they are able to make the right diagnoses, provide the right treatments, and communicate accurately with doctors regarding a patient's care.