Investigating the Impact of Communication Skills on Patient Safety in Multidisciplinary Healthcare Teams

Posted: Aug 24, 2024

• Chase Howard
• Nathan Reed
• Georgia Adams

Abstract

The complexity of modern healthcare delivery necessitates effective collaboration among diverse professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and technicians. Within this multidisciplinary framework, communication serves as the fundamental mechanism through which clinical information is exchanged, decisions are coordinated, and patient care is delivered. Despite widespread recognition of communication's importance, healthcare systems continue to grapple with preventable adverse events, many of which stem from communication failures. The Institute of Medicine's landmark report "To Err Is Human" highlighted communication breakdowns as a leading contributor to medical errors, yet two decades later, this challenge persists as a critical patient safety concern. Traditional approaches to studying healthcare communication have relied heavily on self-report surveys, retrospective analyses of adverse events, and observational studies using human coders. While these methods have yielded valuable insights, they often lack the granularity to identify specific communication patterns that either enhance or compromise patient safety.