Communication plays a key role in allied health administration. Effective communication is not only important to patient care but also when it comes to streamlining processes within allied health settings.
Why Effective Communication is Important
Effective communication can ensure all staff know and can efficiently follow protocols and procedures. This leads to more efficient workflows and better coordination between administration and medical staff and across departments such as laboratories, radiology and pharmacy.
A lack of communication can lead to errors, misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment and poor patient care outcomes. Poor communication can often be the cause of complaints about the healthcare system.
Ways to Improve Communication
While technology in the form of communication tools can assist in improving communication, there are many simple yet effective practices and procedures that can be put in place to improve communication.
Briefings
Short structured meetings where the team can come together and discuss anything from specific patient care to the daily operations of the clinic enables the team to have an open discussion on the issues at hand. It sets a forum for sharing information and ideas and keeping team members up to date as well as allocating tasks where required.
Debriefings
Debriefing after implementing a plan of action can ensure all team members are aware of the outcomes of the plans set in place during the briefing and if any further action is required.
Critical and Common Language
Using an agreed set of terms can indicate to the team the level of importance in what is being discussed. Critical language can communicate that something is not clear and needs to be explained or further explored. Using common or plan language ensures that the use of acronyms and jargon is kept to a minimum to ensure all members of the team have an understanding of what is going on and there is no ambiguity.
Implementing effective communication strategies in allied health administration can ensure that patient care is prioritised and result in positive patient care outcomes.