Running head: COMMUNICATION AND INFLUENCE 1

Communication and Influence

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date
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Abstract
Healthcare is built on the basic principles of caring and compassion. However, numerous

challenges prevent healthcare facilities from meeting these objectives. Technological

changes, political interference, and cultural differences are just a few of the challenges.

Studies show that effective communication occupies a high place in improving the quality of

care within healthcare facilities. Effective communication helps in the collection of patient

data, communication among staff members, and collaboration with the patients. This paper

presents evidence-based review to show the impact of communication in the delivery of

quality healthcare. A scenario is presented at the beginning to put the paper into context.
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Communication and Influence

Healthcare refers to the practice of delivering evidence-based medicine efficiently. To

fully qualify this definition, healthcare should be characterized by attributes such as

equitability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The primary goal of healthcare is to cater to

the needs of patients in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Despite being seemingly simple, the

complexities of healthcare spread far and wide. As no person wants to be seen simply as a

patient, patients have high expectations about the healthcare staff. Evidence-based care helps

eliminate these challenges through the delivery of a safe, efficient, and effective healthcare

plan.

The healthcare facility at which I serve is at the heart of a metropolitan city with a

high mix of cultures. As such, we serve clients of diverse ethnicities and cultural

backgrounds. The setting demands that we do not generalize healthcare delivery. Given the

diverse backgrounds of our patients, even matters that seem trivial such as the use of slang

may offend our clients. The facility emphasizes strict professionalism on anything from dress

code to patient care and the menus in the cafeteria (Glembocki and Dunn, 2010). This

strictness has given the facility a competitive edge over its rivalries in the vicinity.

Operating in such a culturally diverse environment has offered numerous lessons in

terms of patient care. Whenever we get a patient, the first step involves understanding their

culture to enable us to offer customized care. We have long-established that most patients and

their families prefer to preserve their culture even in medication. For instance, it is the norm

in some communities to switch gender roles during expectancy (Chochinov, 2014). Fathers

take higher charges for family affairs during this time. In other cultures, mothers start bottle-

feeding their children early even when breast milk is sufficient.

Communication also gets high preference within the facility at which I practice. The

facility runs an educational program to acquaint the staff with the cultures of the various
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communities it serves. This strategy makes communication easier and puts patients in a better

position to make informed decisions. Studies reveal that women are less included in

communication with staff because it is either a taboo, shameful, or they simply do not discuss

their problems (Wikberg and Bondas, 2010). We learn plenty of interrogation techniques to

compel this population to open up about their medical histories. Above all, we emphasize

professional caring.

Effective communication is the secret sauce to quality patient care in our facility. It

enables the staff to interact with the patients in a way that would not be possible given the

diverse cultural backgrounds of the patients. By relating with patients in a way that they

understand best, we can get vital information required for their care. Research also shows a

high correlation between communication and the quality of healthcare. A research conducted

by Becker’s Hospital Review shows that most admissions and referrals could be avoided

through effective communication (Stone, 2016). The facility integrates traditional with

contemporary approaches such as the use of technology to enhance communication. As a

result, the facility performs exceptionally on all scores.

In light of evidence-based care, the treatment of chronic diseases calls for a better

approach than in the past. One of the trends that have proved effective is the organization of

treatment on an outpatient basis. The sector has also witnessed a shift of treatments towards

primary care. For either of the strategies to succeed, there is a need to share information

among general practitioners. In their study, Vermeir et al (2015) sought to establish the

impact of communication on the improvement of healthcare. Given that written

communication is the most prevalent in healthcare, the researchers carried out their study by

reviewing existing literature.

Searching key terms within medical databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, and

the Cochrane Library formed the basis of the methodology. The researchers were concerned
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with terms such as patient safety, patient handoff, correspondence, and continuity of patient

care. Only articles published after 1985 were reviewed.

In total, the researchers found over 5,000 papers but removed duplicates and screened

the rest to remain with only 69 papers. This research selected four criteria namely modalities

of communication, inefficiencies of communication, timeliness, and the economic impact of

communication. Under the modalities of communication, it was established that written

communication was the most preferred in healthcare. The main drawback of face-to-face

communication was the broken link between the communicating parties (Faith, 2013). For

instance, one party is unable to hear what the other is saying or cannot understand the facial

expressions of the other party. Use of technology such as sending emails or video

conferencing received higher preference than face-to-face communication.

According to Vermeir et al. (2015), written communication has numerous advantages

in healthcare settings. Firstly, it can be used for future reference and as evidence during

conflicts. The researchers established that technological advancement makes it easier to use

written communication. Additionally, written communication is instrumental in the

advancement of knowledge.

A substantial number of the papers reviewed assessed the timeliness of

communication. It emerged that no matter the medium of communication or the message,

timeliness is a contributor to the efficiency of healthcare. The greatest complaint about

timeliness was the untimely delivery of letters. For instance, 53 percent of general

practitioners receive discharge letters a week after the dismissal of a patient. Most of the

letters do not even reach the intended recipients.

The delay of specialist letters may occur at different stages of the communication

process. For instance, specialists were found to wait for too long before drawing up the

letters. In other instances, rules requiring multi-stage authentications were found to cause
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delays. Untimely communication impacts the delivery of healthcare in numerous fronts,

including avoidable hospital admissions, medical errors, delayed dismissal, readmissions, and

inappropriate referrals.

Studies further reveal that communication between healthcare workers and patients

impacts the medical outcome of the latter. Patients are more likely to collaborate if the

practitioners have good communication skills (Anwar, 2017). With medical history

interviews forming the better part of patient-staff communication, practitioners have better

chances of establishing rapport at this point. Unfortunately, studies reveal that most patients

are not allowed to express themselves due to limited time of interviews or interruptions. This

compromises the quality of diagnosis, leading to dire consequences.

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Conclusion

The growing number of chronic diseases has driven healthcare facilities towards the

provision of primary care. As healthcare becomes more specialized, so does the need for

effective communication. That notwithstanding, communication within healthcare facilities is

greatly affected by timeliness. These challenges can be addressed by eliminating

bureaucracies in the communication process. Hospitals should as well avoid overworking

their staff and resolve to use their resources effectively. These recommendations can greatly

improve patient safety and satisfaction once implemented.

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References

Anwar, S., (2017, July 16) Impact and importance of effective communication in healthcare

delivery. Retrieved on May 9, 2020, from https://www.thedailystar.net/health/impact-

and-importance-effective-communication-healthcare-delivery-1433701

Chochinov, H. M. (2014). Health care, health caring, and the culture of medicine. Current

Oncology, 21(5), e668.

Faith, K. E. (2013, April). The role of values-based leadership in sustaining a culture of

caring. In Healthcare management forum (Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 6-10). Sage CA: Los

Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Glembocki, M. M., & Dunn, K. S. (2010). Building an organizational culture of caring:

Caring perceptions enhanced with education. The Journal of Continuing Education in

Nursing, 41(12), 565-570.

Stone, J., (2016). The Impact of Communication in Healthcare.

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., ... &

Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the

literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical

practice, 69(11), 1257-1267.

Wikberg, A., & Bondas, T. (2010). A patient perspective in research on intercultural caring in

maternity care: A meta-ethnography. International journal of qualitative studies on

health and well-being, 5(1), 4648.