Healthcare communication is super important because it ensures patient care is top-notch, everything runs smoothly, and there are happy healthcare employees.
Yet, it has to be realized that communication between departments may become quite intricate. Several barriers can hinder the overall performance of hospitals and other healthcare settings.
Let’s discuss the role of interdepartmental communication in nursing, common barriers to effective communication, the effect of communication defects, and techniques for promoting collaboration and improving patient outcomes.
Importance of Communication among the Departments in Nursing
IN THIS ARTICLE
Interdepartmental communication plays a significant role in nursing practices as it ensures better coordination for the best quality of patient care.
This is evidenced by the study by CRICO that indicated breakdowns in communications about patient care accounted for 30 percent of malpractice cases and 1,744 deaths, with related costs of $1.7 billion.
That figure shows how vital clear communication is in preventing mistakes that might lead to devastating results for patients, quality of care, and health systems.
Another annual report found that upwards of half of the serious problems in its accredited hospitals originated with fouled-up communications.
Poor communication can seriously affect patient safety, leading to delayed care, medication errors, and avoidable readmissions among healthcare staff.
This means that, in the healthcare industry, nurses play an important role because they facilitate communication among all groups of people, which include doctors, pharmacists, and administrative personnel.
They are good communicators and hence facilitate communication among the interdisciplinary teams for the betterment of the patients.
Ideally, modern health care is becoming so complex and specialized that good interdepartmental communication is crucial in protecting and caring for patients with efficient resource utilization. We need to move away from these communication challenges.
Common Barriers to Successful Interdepartmental Communication
Although important, effective interdepartmental communication continues to challenge many healthcare organizations. Some barriers may create a problem in coordinating patients’ care, and these may include:
Hierarchical Structures and Power Imbalances
In most health settings, various hierarchies and power imbalances within different departments minimize open communication. There is a communication gap.
This manifests itself in the reluctance of nurses to raise opinions or even question physicians or seniors. That would naturally create demands for more explicit care plans and sometimes delay interventions.
Research shows that professional disrespect within physician-nurse relationships is associated with safety concerns raised by nurses being ignored, downplayed, or dismissed, with deleterious consequences for patient safety.
Furthermore, power and steep hierarchies blur the ability of health professionals to work in a team, further hurting patient care.
These results highlight the need to address hierarchical barriers and instill a culture that allows nurses to speak out when there is a concern for patient safety.
Lack of communication protocols
Standardized communication protocols ensure information isn’t lost in translation. For example, nurses can rush change-of-shift verbal communications and exclude accurate information between departments.
A lack of standard practice in providing patient information may result in misunderstandings, loss of information, or even harm to the patient.
Technological Barriers
While there is no doubt that electronic health records have revolutionized health record-keeping, many communication-related problems arise in their wake. EHR systems often differ from one department to the other, making timely dissemination of patient information difficult.
A Black Book Market Research report estimated that 96% of health professionals worldwide regarded connectivity and integration as significant pain points, further underlining the remaining interoperability challenges these EHR systems offer.
These technological barriers can delay patient treatment because they are prone to errors. Therefore, there is a demand for standardized and interoperable systems that efficiently share information across other hospital departments.
Time Constraints and Workload Pressures
Healthcare providers, especially nurses, often face high time pressures and heavy workloads. As staff continues to shrink and patients grow, it might be difficult for nurses to take enough time to communicate properly with other departments.
This may lead to failed communication of key information that fails to detect mistakes or delays in patient care.
The Effects of Communication Breakdown on Patient Care
The communication model in a nursing facility is interconnected and defined. That means the whole system feels the functionality of the other departments.
For example, if the patient accounting system fails, patients may not receive their medications from the pharmacy. And this means a bug in the system or incompatible gadget-network problems equals an unhappy patient.
Similarly, if your ambulance communication devices are unreliable, even in remote areas, you may risk further patients’ lives due to delayed communication or poor signal delivery. You should be able to effectively contact your field paramedics and ambulance services, whether communicating updates on destination or life guidelines.
Further, communication clarity issues such as a physician may recommend an Ileum check-up (The last part of the small intestine), but the patient shows up with an x-ray of part of the hip bone (Ilium).
That means only one thing- miscommunication is a time bomb- while proper communication solutions boost medical effectiveness.
How to Build a Culture of Open Communication
Healthcare organizations need to foster a culture of openness and collaboration in communications to overcome such barriers to communication between departments.
Cross-departmental collaboration and transparency is a must. Healthcare organizations can adopt several different strategies to ensure that communication is effective in providing good coordination in patient care:
Utilize Universal Communication Methods
Standardizing the communication process helps clarify and reduce the chances of mistakes. Standardization can be a powerful communication tool.
The Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation provide a step-by-step model for healthcare professionals to deliver informed decisions and information to their colleagues, especially in critical handoffs.
Fostering Two-Way Communication
It’s vital to encourage bidirectional communication, where all providers, regardless of role, are heard and appreciated.
This includes creating an environment where nurses feel comfortable voicing concerns, asking questions, and providing input about decisions regarding patient care.
Training and Education
Investing in various communication training programs for the personnel in health care will help avoid cultural and communication barriers.
Training programs that emphasize active listening, empathy, and respect for different forms of communication can also improve team relations and reduce misunderstandings.
You’d be surprised how much this can positively impact job satisfaction and organizational culture, too.
Utilize Technology to Improve Communication
Healthcare organizations should invest in interoperable EHR systems and various technologies to improve their real-time communication across departmental boundaries.
implementing a duress system for healthcare staff can ensure that urgent assistance is readily available, thereby enhancing the sense of safety and support that underpins effective communication.
Bottom line
Communication barriers between nursing departments can be challenging, but healthcare organizations can make systemic changes to address them.
Proper communication between departments is vital in ensuring our patients receive adequate care, reducing errors, and improving overall care delivery.
Healthcare organizations can create an environment where nurses and other facility personnel can work together more effectively by overcoming common barriers, including hierarchy structure, lack of standardized procedures, and technological impediments, and promoting a culture of open communication and mutual respect.
Ultimately, improving interdepartmental communication is not just a matter of enhancing operational efficiency but a critical step toward delivering safer, more effective patient care.
