Healthcare Management: Effective Communication

Effective and Ineffective Communication

Taylor

Health Care Management/ HCS/325

August 15, 2011

Professor James Morello

Effective and Ineffective Communication

Communication is one of the most important tools in health care. Communication is how a physician communicates what patient needs what treatment, how a manager tells an employee “good work!”, and how a coworker asks another coworker for help. There are some communication methods that are not as effective as other methods. The goal is for the healthcare manager should be to create a communication system that is both efficient and effective. Also implementing a technology based system, like Electronic Medical Records (EMR), can also enhance the communication method.

Effective Communication

First and foremost the healthcare manager needs to implement an organization structure that works for the facility. Within the organizational structure the manager can implement a communication structure. The manager can put together a communication program to encourage their employees to communicate with one another better, as well as their patients. They can create incentives to go along with the program. For instance, if the manager hears two nurses talking positively about a patient’s treatment and they are working together to treat the patient, as well as discuss the patient’s treatment effectively with the patient. An incentive can be given, like movie tickets or a few hours of PTO. The health care facilities will need to hold routine meetings with their employees to go over a few guidelines and see how well the new communication program is working. If it is working well the program should continue if it is not working then they could move on to something else. They could come up with another program that would encourage their employees to open up and trust each other more. To acquire more communication from the patients the facility can put suggestion cards out in the lobby and mail or email follow up...