The Legitimacy Of Effective Communication In Health Care
Personal and Professional Healthcare Communication
To be able to care for ourselves and other when there are sick we must be able to learn how to communicate successfully. I will attempt to define communication, the relevancy of effective personal health care communication with other health care professional, clients, and patients. The relevancy of effective professional health care communication to health outcome, how the lack of effective personal and professional health care communications contributes to poor health outcomes, and the theories and principles of therapeutic communication in health care settings for the health care professional. “Communication is the process of sharing information using a set of common rules. Communication involves a transfer of information between a source and the receiver”. (Northouse, 1998, p. 2).Health care communication is also an effective line of communication between medical professional and patients, for example, a social worker and nurse. An essential component of the communication of health care providers is the ability to provide information which can improve patients understanding. Health care communication can be in the form of conversations …show more content…
between a healthcare professional and a patient on the prescriptions, over the counter medications, health education, Medicare or insurance applications or any form of health information that may be required by an individual. Communication skills of the health care are part of the work ethics which form the foundation of practice that is important for ensuring the patients safety and quality of care. Effective communication is accomplished when the patients can effectively translate what the health care provider says by way of action and when the health care provider says by way of action and when the health care provider can relate to the needs of the patient. Effective communication is sometime facilitated by the use of translators where language is a barrier as found in the arguments of (Servellen,1997).
Relevance of effective personal healthcare communication with other health care professional, clients or patients. Effective communication provides the advantage on which diagnoses and consequent treatment is offered. Given the view that health care units are some of the most effective preventive entities in our society, community based projects are common scenarios in health care institutions. In view of (Nemeth, 2008), optimization of outcomes of these group’s operation needs sharing of information by communication means. This works towards the effectiveness of the individual preventative groups.
In regular health care practice, there are several professionals, each with specific duties. These duties are interdependent so that what is done on a patient at the present time is dependent on the referrals from another professional in the same field. As a way of avoiding malpractices, there should be clear communication whether in writing or verbal to team members so that the next professional knows where to begin work from. The patient and the clients should be fully involved in the process so that they know what is expected of them.
Patients, when seeking personalized health help have to present accurate information on the symptoms and problems that they are going through so that the health care provider can give the correct diagnosis. In the past failure to communicate effectively has resulted in law suits in which the health care providers have been accused of negligence due to bad outcomes (Servellen,1997) Clinicians and health professionals have to listen to patient’s complains and explanations of illnesses before jumping to conclusions as to what would be ailing the patient. This way the patient will be receptive and compliant to the treatment regime. Listening also builds trust between the patient and health care provider. Researcher has proved that the single most effective predictor of patient adherence to a treatment plan is communication. Effective communication on the health provider’s side translates to the education of the patient who then willingly participates in the treatment plan.
Relevance of effective professional healthcare communication to health outcomes. In most cases effective communication provides an avenue through which objectives and goals are met. Failure of communication the goals may not be met. This follows that outcomes are directly proportional to the amount of communication that has been transform into action. It has been proven that patient who cannot read do not comprehend easily and hence resume poor knowledge of health. They also register high rates of hospitalization, and are non-compliance with medication and follow ups. As health care providers communication barriers can be broken by providing nonmedical terms, diagrams and pictures. Effective communication is hence important if outcome measures like adherence to treatment and disease treatment outcome are to be attained (Nemeth,2008).
How the lack of effective personal healthcare communication contribute to poor health outcomes. Ineffective communications results from barriers such as cultural differences, age factors, illiteracy factors, linguistic factors, environmental factors. Lack of communication creates room for medical errors to occur. The errors have a great potential to cause extensive injury and or unexpected patient death. This may result from misdiagnoses and problems in treatments that follow lack of ineffective communication. The outcome may also include the patient giving up on finding a solution to the disease. Example outcome in a drug rehabilitation program, a patient who does not reveal the extent to which he or she used drugs may result in the wrong diagnosis. The one addicted needs different care from the one who is just starting out. If the same therapy is applied for both cases, the addict will suffer undesired results the withdrawal syndrome.
Theories and principles of therapeutic communication in health care settings for the healthcare professional. (Northouse, 1998, p 20) “Human communication is information shared between individuals using a common system of symbols and language.” (Northouse, p 12) Therapeutic communication “a skill that helps people cope with stress, confront psychological obstacles, and learn how to relate effectively to others-between health professionals and clients in other health care contexts.” Therapeutics communication is to improve patient and clients ability to function. A professional should plan a time to talk with the patient when they are not engage, like change of shift, during visiting hours. Healthcare provider should be introduced in full name and purpose of the interaction session. Patients should be allowed to talk without interference from the healthcare provider.
Every professional healthcare provider should be able to understand biophysiological dispositions of their patients (Servellen, 1997).
This entails aspects like the sensory reception of information, brain processing and sensory and feedback mechanisms and learning. The most important sensory modalities that aid in the understanding of human communication are auditory, visual and kinesthetic. There are individuals who will pick up visual gestures faster than the auditory clues while some are multimodal. Professional should take into consideration the patient’s social background, education level, culture, beliefs and
occupation.
Effective communication in healthcare is relevant to the professional as well as the persons seeking help and outcomes are dependent on how communication is carried out. Effective leadership, effective goals clarification, appropriate behavior can lead to achieving the desired results.
Nemeth, C. (2008). Improving health care team communication: Bbuilding on lessons from aviation and aerospace. England: Ashgate. Print.
Servellen, V., M., G. (1997). Communication skills for the healthcare professional: concepts and techniques. Gaithersburg, MDd.: Aspen Publisher. Print
Northouse, L. L., & Northouse, P. G. (1998). Health Communication: Strategies for Health Professionals (3rd ed.). : Prentice Hal
To be able to care for ourselves and other when there are sick we must be able to learn how to communicate successfully. I will attempt to define communication, the relevancy of effective personal health care communication with other health care professional, clients, and patients. The relevancy of effective professional health care communication to health outcome, how the lack of effective personal and professional health care communications contributes to poor health outcomes, and the theories and principles of therapeutic communication in health care settings for the health care professional. “Communication is the process of sharing information using a set of common rules. Communication involves a transfer of information between a source and the receiver”. (Northouse, 1998, p. 2).Health care communication is also an effective line of communication between medical professional and patients, for example, a social worker and nurse. An essential component of the communication of health care providers is the ability to provide information which can improve patients understanding. Health care communication can be in the form of conversations …show more content…
between a healthcare professional and a patient on the prescriptions, over the counter medications, health education, Medicare or insurance applications or any form of health information that may be required by an individual. Communication skills of the health care are part of the work ethics which form the foundation of practice that is important for ensuring the patients safety and quality of care. Effective communication is accomplished when the patients can effectively translate what the health care provider says by way of action and when the health care provider says by way of action and when the health care provider can relate to the needs of the patient. Effective communication is sometime facilitated by the use of translators where language is a barrier as found in the arguments of (Servellen,1997).
Relevance of effective personal healthcare communication with other health care professional, clients or patients. Effective communication provides the advantage on which diagnoses and consequent treatment is offered. Given the view that health care units are some of the most effective preventive entities in our society, community based projects are common scenarios in health care institutions. In view of (Nemeth, 2008), optimization of outcomes of these group’s operation needs sharing of information by communication means. This works towards the effectiveness of the individual preventative groups.
In regular health care practice, there are several professionals, each with specific duties. These duties are interdependent so that what is done on a patient at the present time is dependent on the referrals from another professional in the same field. As a way of avoiding malpractices, there should be clear communication whether in writing or verbal to team members so that the next professional knows where to begin work from. The patient and the clients should be fully involved in the process so that they know what is expected of them.
Patients, when seeking personalized health help have to present accurate information on the symptoms and problems that they are going through so that the health care provider can give the correct diagnosis. In the past failure to communicate effectively has resulted in law suits in which the health care providers have been accused of negligence due to bad outcomes (Servellen,1997) Clinicians and health professionals have to listen to patient’s complains and explanations of illnesses before jumping to conclusions as to what would be ailing the patient. This way the patient will be receptive and compliant to the treatment regime. Listening also builds trust between the patient and health care provider. Researcher has proved that the single most effective predictor of patient adherence to a treatment plan is communication. Effective communication on the health provider’s side translates to the education of the patient who then willingly participates in the treatment plan.
Relevance of effective professional healthcare communication to health outcomes. In most cases effective communication provides an avenue through which objectives and goals are met. Failure of communication the goals may not be met. This follows that outcomes are directly proportional to the amount of communication that has been transform into action. It has been proven that patient who cannot read do not comprehend easily and hence resume poor knowledge of health. They also register high rates of hospitalization, and are non-compliance with medication and follow ups. As health care providers communication barriers can be broken by providing nonmedical terms, diagrams and pictures. Effective communication is hence important if outcome measures like adherence to treatment and disease treatment outcome are to be attained (Nemeth,2008).
How the lack of effective personal healthcare communication contribute to poor health outcomes. Ineffective communications results from barriers such as cultural differences, age factors, illiteracy factors, linguistic factors, environmental factors. Lack of communication creates room for medical errors to occur. The errors have a great potential to cause extensive injury and or unexpected patient death. This may result from misdiagnoses and problems in treatments that follow lack of ineffective communication. The outcome may also include the patient giving up on finding a solution to the disease. Example outcome in a drug rehabilitation program, a patient who does not reveal the extent to which he or she used drugs may result in the wrong diagnosis. The one addicted needs different care from the one who is just starting out. If the same therapy is applied for both cases, the addict will suffer undesired results the withdrawal syndrome.
Theories and principles of therapeutic communication in health care settings for the healthcare professional. (Northouse, 1998, p 20) “Human communication is information shared between individuals using a common system of symbols and language.” (Northouse, p 12) Therapeutic communication “a skill that helps people cope with stress, confront psychological obstacles, and learn how to relate effectively to others-between health professionals and clients in other health care contexts.” Therapeutics communication is to improve patient and clients ability to function. A professional should plan a time to talk with the patient when they are not engage, like change of shift, during visiting hours. Healthcare provider should be introduced in full name and purpose of the interaction session. Patients should be allowed to talk without interference from the healthcare provider.
Every professional healthcare provider should be able to understand biophysiological dispositions of their patients (Servellen, 1997).
This entails aspects like the sensory reception of information, brain processing and sensory and feedback mechanisms and learning. The most important sensory modalities that aid in the understanding of human communication are auditory, visual and kinesthetic. There are individuals who will pick up visual gestures faster than the auditory clues while some are multimodal. Professional should take into consideration the patient’s social background, education level, culture, beliefs and
occupation.
Effective communication in healthcare is relevant to the professional as well as the persons seeking help and outcomes are dependent on how communication is carried out. Effective leadership, effective goals clarification, appropriate behavior can lead to achieving the desired results.
Nemeth, C. (2008). Improving health care team communication: Bbuilding on lessons from aviation and aerospace. England: Ashgate. Print.
Servellen, V., M., G. (1997). Communication skills for the healthcare professional: concepts and techniques. Gaithersburg, MDd.: Aspen Publisher. Print
Northouse, L. L., & Northouse, P. G. (1998). Health Communication: Strategies for Health Professionals (3rd ed.). : Prentice Hal