OPTIMIZING COMMUNICATION IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Course overview

Effective communication is essential to patient safety and risk management. A comprehensive review of medical literature and an internal analysis of hundreds of malpractice cases and adverse outcomes revealed an obvious common theme ¿ miscommunication. Communication issues may take many forms. It is critical for practitioners to understand and apply the concepts of effective communication in their encounters with patients, consultants, and staff members, and in their documentation in the medical record in order to avoid errors, improve patient safety, and reduce the likelihood of subsequent litigation. In this activity, we discuss the role of communication and professionalism in patient satisfaction and patient safety, present and discuss cases to highlight various communication issues, and provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of communication. We also introduce the requirements of organizations such as The Joint Commission and IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) that promote patient safety and reduce adverse outcomes. After completing this activity, practitioners should be able to: apply the concepts of effective communication in clinical practice with patients and other providers in order to improve communication, enhance patient safety, and decrease the risk of exposure to medical malpractice; integrate the practice of documenting key clinical positives and negatives that relate to a patient¿s presentation in the medical record into clinical practice in order to demonstrate consideration of an appropriate differential diagnosis and decrease allegations of medical negligence; and use a formalized and documented communication process to improve clinical handoffs.