Communication in Health Care
One of the most important factors for quality patient care in any health care facility is strong and clear communication between caregivers and patients. Such communication must be effective in both directions, and it must be mutually understood.
In your reflection paper, please describe constructive approaches to overcoming communication barriers in a health care organization. Also, describe how effective communication will have an impact on your future learning opportunities in a health care organization.
UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE
Professionalism and
Communication
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
5. Evaluate ways to improve the quality of patient care in a health care setting.
5.1 Describe effective approaches to overcoming communication barriers in a health care
organization.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
5.1
Learning Activity
Unit Lesson
Chapter 15
Unit VIII Reflection Paper
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 15: Professionalism and Communication
Unit Lesson
Communication for Quality in Health Care Organizations
Patients experience stressful situations in the hospital emergency room due to either a sick family member or
any other traumatic event.
(Galitskaya, n.d.)
Students in this course are aspiring health care leaders. As such, they must understand a very important
aspect of the medical leadership role. We have the responsibility of caring for patients who are going through
a very difficult time in their lives. The very fact that they are patients in our facilities should tell us that they are
not at their best. They are stressed, feeling ill, may be in significant pain, and their families and friends are
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sharing this experience with them. Nobody is at their best when they are receiving
care.
All of these
UNITmedical
x STUDY
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factors make communication more difficult, but as leaders, we must find a wayTitle
to achieve clear and effective
communication with our patients and their loved ones. It is a very important responsibility.
Is Communication Tougher Today?
Provider-patient communication in hospitals is more difficult today for a variety of reasons. First, the patient’s
stay in the hospital is much shorter today, averaging just over 3 days. A few decades ago, patients would
typically stay in the hospital for a week or more, providing plenty of time for daily interaction with doctors,
nurses, and therapists. There was more time and more opportunity to achieve strong communication.
Everything is rushed in today’s medicine. Nobody likes that, but it is reality. Medicare, Medicaid, and
managed care organizations set strict limits on length-of-stay, and those limits are not going away any time
soon (Huang, 2019).
Today’s medical care is also much more complex. There is simply more information for patients and families
to understand now and more to comprehend. Combine the short length-of-stay with the complexity of care,
and add in the fact that caregivers themselves are much busier than we were in the past, and you get the
idea. It is harder to achieve mutual understanding with patients now.
We must achieve exactly that before we discharge the patient home or transfer them to another facility. Safe
transitions to home, the nursing home, or to a rehabilitation center are so important. These transitions are
also our greatest area of risk for patient safety. The history of U.S. health care has seen so many problems at
the time of “handoff,” when one caregiver passes responsibility for the patient’s care to another. We must do
better at these times of transition (Huang, 2019).
Why Is Communication so Important?
The purpose of communication is to create shared understanding. When we achieve effective communication
with patients and families, they can actively participate in their own care, and that changes everything. When
patients truly understand their own condition and their own treatment plan, they have better compliance with
therapy and better self-management. They also know when they should reach out and communicate condition
changes to the provider. A key concept here is sustaining communication between patient and provider long
after discharge. Our care teams must continue to communicate with patients after transition to ensure positive
outcomes and to strengthen patient-provider relationships. All of this is worth the extra effort. Sustained high
quality communication means that patients stay well, stay out of the emergency room, and avoid readmission
to the hospital (Huang, 2019; Olden, 2019).
Conclusion—The Biggest Impact of Strong Communication in Health Care
Hospital admission is stressful for anyone, not just the patient, but everyone who cares for the patient. The
modern hospital is an intimidating, high-tech place. We must make sure that it is also a “high-touch” place.
Patients will naturally be hesitant to question what is happening to them. They have grown up in a culture
where doctor’s orders carry a lot of weight, but they are also transitioning into a culture where the internet
provides so much information about their symptoms, the diagnostic process, and options for care. They will
have questions!
Successful health care organizations find a way to welcome the patient’s questions and concerns. They do
one more very important thing—they find a way for the patient to preserve his or her dignity throughout the
health care process. Solid communication is key there. When patients feel informed, they feel cared for, and
their dignity is preserved. They have a voice in what is happening to them, we all want that.
Good communication is important in every industry, important in every relationship, and so very important in
our health care facilities. As we lead our own facilities, let us put strong emphasis on the communication
piece, let’s get it right. We owe it to our patients!
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References
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Galitskaya, E. (n.d.). Young woman sitting in hospital waiting for a doctor`s appointment (ID 141154771)
[Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/young-woman-sitting-hospital-waitingdoctor-s-appointment-patients-doctors-room-image141154771
Huang, L. (2019, August 19). Importance of communication in healthcare. CiperHealth.

Olden, P. C. (2019). Management of healthcare organization: An introduction (3rd ed.). Health Administration
Press.
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resource, click the link below.
Strong communication with your health care team is so important. Learn more about that by viewing this video
from The Wellness Network!
The Wellness Network (Producer). (2017). Communicating with your healthcare team [Video]. Films on
Demand. https://fod-infobasecom.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=146552&tScript=0
The transcript for this video can be found by clicking on “Transcript” in the gray bar to the right of the video in
the Films on Demand database.
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
This Chapter 15 Click to Reveal Terms activity reinforces information on lesson content that you will find
helpful. A PDF of the Chapter 15 Terms activity is also available.
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