The Importance of Effective Communication in Healthcare

Effective workplace dynamics rely heavily on communication. A team’s ability to clearly express feelings, boundaries and expectations can be vital for success in nearly every field.   

Within healthcare institutions, whether they be academic medical centers or private clinics, effective communication is critical for the well-being of both staff and patients. When healthcare professionals communicate effectively with colleagues, patients, insurance providers, and administrative personnel, they can help enhance the quality of patient care.    

Why is communication important in healthcare? 

Communication brings a variety of benefits for those within the healthcare system, including patients, doctors, nurses and administrators. By using clear communication, healthcare teams can improve patient satisfaction, reduce errors, lower costs and enhance collaboration in the workplace.   

Improved patient satisfaction  

Healthcare teams work every day to improve the health and well-being of their patients and their communities. Building team communication can help healthcare providers to offer better service to their patients in many ways, such as:   

• Providing timely care for patients to minimize their time spent in the hospital.   
• Building strong rapport with patients so they feel comfortable discussing treatment.  
• Reducing mistakes that can lead to unnecessarily lengthy treatment.    

All of these improvements work together to build trust among healthcare workers and their patients or customers, and research shows that trust is a critical factor in the performance of healthcare organizations.  

Reduced errors  

Everyone makes mistakes, but in healthcare, errors can lead to life-or-death situations for patients. Incorrectly recorded medical history may lead to diagnostic errors or delays. Unclear communication between employees regarding patient treatment and medication can cause adverse physical symptoms.   

Strong written and verbal communication skills create a work environment where patient information is accurate, clearly conveyed and shared with team members to improve patient care.    

Lower costs  

According to recent estimates, communication barriers lead to $6.8 billion in preventable costs for healthcare organizations. Improving communication barriers between healthcare providers and between providers and patients leads to a variety of cost-reducing benefits, such as shorter hospital stays and fewer adverse events during treatment.   

By prioritizing communication in healthcare settings, leaders can save their organizations and their patients valuable time and money.   

Enhanced collaboration  

When a patient’s treatment crosses multiple specialties, collaboration is essential. Nurses, doctors, surgeons and others must work together to create a treatment plan that is best for the patient’s health.   

This collaboration requires clear communication and openness. By improving communication skills such as active listening, healthcare teams can improve the level of treatment their patients receive.   

Strategies for improving communication in healthcare 

An investment in employees’ communication skills is an investment in the long-term success of the healthcare organization and the health of its patients. Employers can develop communication in a variety of ways such as by offering skills training, utilizing technology and holding team-building meetings regularly.   

Utilize technology to share information  

New technologies continue to provide ways for healthcare teams to effectively communicate and coordinate patient care. Some examples include:   

• Remote patient monitoring: According to the United States Health Resources and Services Administration, remote patient monitoring is a useful tool in successful telehealth initiatives. Devices such as pulse oximeters and blood pressure monitors collect vital data in real-time for a healthcare team to assess.   
• Electronic health records: Electronic health records are a digitized form of a patient’s medical history, logged by their healthcare providers over the years. These electronic records provide healthcare teams with the information they need to treat their patients. Nurses can electronically log medication usage, doctors can make notes on treatment plans and surgeries, and administrators can use the information to file necessary insurance forms.    
• Secure messaging apps: One way to use technology to improve communication in healthcare is using HIPAA-compliant messaging apps. Healthcare teams and their patients can communicate through secure instant messaging platforms to discuss new developments and make plans for future treatment while maintaining patient privacy.   

These tools provide healthcare teams with instantaneous information sharing. By adopting these tools, healthcare organizations can reduce time waste and errors, save funds and improve the patient experience.   

Offer skills training  

Offering skills training is another key way to improve a healthcare team’s communication skills. Providing opportunities for upskilling brings healthcare organizations benefits such as:   

• Improving employee retention and boosting morale by offering opportunities for growth and career expansion.   
• Inviting innovation and collaboration as employees learn new skills and develop their expertise. This individual growth can lead to increased innovation and collaborative efforts.    
• Improving patients’ experiences by ensuring that healthcare teams are regularly improving their skills and striving to provide quality care using up-to-date practices.    
• Attracting up-and-coming talent: If a healthcare organization is interested in adding to the team, then offering skills training is a powerful tool for attracting up-and-coming talent. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, continuing education opportunities are a high priority for young professionals — with 66% of workers ages 18-24 prioritizing learning and development initiatives when applying for jobs.   

Employers can adopt healthcare training programs that are specific to their field. These courses teach industry expertise along with soft skills such as empathy, inclusivity and leadership that health professionals need to excel in their roles. These communication-related skills will help healthcare providers to better lead their teams, build trust with patients and work more effectively in a high-stress environment.    

Hold regular meetings for employees  

Leadership professionals at healthcare organizations can support their staff by holding regular meetings focused on communication. These meetings can include discussions about:   

• Performance: Regular meetings for employees provide teams and healthcare leaders with the chance to examine past performance and make plans for the future. This can include small group discussions based on department or large group discussions.   
• Patient feedback: Collecting patient feedback is helpful, but this information needs to be shared with healthcare teams. Discussing patient feedback as a team allows healthcare providers to celebrate victories and explore solutions for past errors.   
• New initiatives: This discussion provides space for leadership to introduce new initiatives, while also allowing staff to present ideas they have for the improvement of healthcare communication strategies and other processes.   

These meetings serve to facilitate clear communication between employees, reduce the risk of errors, and instill patient-centered care as a central value for the team.   

Organize team-building exercises  

Healthcare leaders can help improve their team’s communication skills through various team-building exercises. These activities encourage active listening, clear written and verbal communication and so much more. Example exercises include:   

• Back-to-back drawing: Staff members will pair up and sit back-to-back. With one partner holding a pen and paper, the other partner will describe a shape as clearly as they can. At the end, the partners will see if their speaking and listening skills led to an accurate drawing.   
• Characters, conflict, struggle, goal: CCSG is a structure for sharing narratives with team members. Healthcare staff can use team meetings to practice telling stories about the team’s work using the CCSG structure and discussing the story as a group.   

These exercises provide a low-stress environment for team members to actively practice their communication skills. As a form of hands-on learning, these activities appeal to different learning styles and contribute to holistic skill development for the entire team.