A comprehensive review of medical literature reveals that communication errors are a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Unfortunately, even with all the alerts and the plethora of literature addressing problems associated with poor communication throughout the healthcare industry, serious errors in communication are widespread in all sectors of the medical field. The Joint Commission has alerted the medical community to the dangers of poor communication through various patient safety goals and recommendations. In addition, various “Sentinel Event Alerts” have been issued that detail how poor communication has been cited as a root cause of patient death in studies of surgical and obstetrical units (Sentinel Event Issues #12, #30). Communication, whether verbal, written, or technology/electronic-related, must be clear and precise in order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
In this activity, we cover areas of high-risk practice that are particularly prone to communication errors. We discuss strategies and technological advances that have been shown to prevent many common errors and improve the quality of patient care. In addition, we teach simple communication techniques to enhance the quality and effectiveness of interactions and conversations between healthcare providers and their patients. After completing this activity, practitioners should be able to: apply knowledge of common healthcare communication errors to clinical practice in order to communicate effectively and avoid situations leading to medical errors; use a standardized handoff technique (such as SBAR) to improve communication during handoffs/transitions; and employ strategies to improve provider-patient communication.
- Provider:The Sullivan Group
- Activity Link: https://www.thesullivangroup.com/RSQSolutions/course-purchase-home/
- Start Date: 2023-10-05 05:00:00
- End Date: 2023-10-05 05:00:00
- Credit Details: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™️: 1.0 hours
- Commercial Support: No
- Activity Type: Enduring Material
- CME Finder Type: Online Learning
- Fee to Participate: Variable
- Measured Outcome: Learner Competence, Learner Knowledge, Learner Performance, Patient Health
- Provider Ship: Directly Provided
- Registration: Open to all