Improving Communication Practices in Health & Social Care Settings

This essay provides a comprehensive evaluation of communication systems and practices within health and social care settings, highlighting the significance of effective communication for achieving desired goals and objectives. It examines provider-to-provider and provider-to-patient communication systems, along with emergency alert and notification systems, detailing potential problems such as lack of information access, lapses in communication, and inadequate emergency mechanisms. The essay further explores the detrimental impacts of poor communication, including compromised care quality, adverse patient outcomes, resource wastage, elevated healthcare expenses, extended waiting times, incomplete follow-ups, and improper data handling. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of clarity and clarification in information dissemination as vital communication techniques for supporting effective practices and overcoming the challenges posed by poor communication in healthcare environments. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to aid students in their studies.

Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Communication refers to the use of various methods and techniques so that the desired
information can be shared in the right manner without problems and issues. In health and social
care settings, the use of communication can be made in a proper manner so that the desired goals
and objectives can be attained (Chan and Lai, 2016). In this essay, a detailed focus will be made
on evaluation of communication systems and practices, explaining the impact of poor
communication on individuals and others. Additionally, the specific analysis on use of
communication techniques for supporting effective practices and overcoming poor
communication will be made as a part of this project.
MAIN BODY
Communication systems and practices which can be used in health and social care
settings are explained as follows-
Provider-to-Provider Communication systems- In this particular type of communication
system, the different types of solutions can be provided for the purpose of referrals,
collaboration, issuing scripts, transferring patients, receiving lab results and providing payments
(Ferrell and et.al., 2019). Thus in this type of health and social care system the processing of the
data and the information can take place in a seamless manner which will help a lot in ensuring
that the overall goals and objectives can be attained.
As health and social care settings involve making the use of sensitive data and
information which is related with the patients it is quite essential that the use of the techniques
which are provided here can be made which will lead towards the attainment of the higher-level
of efficiency and effectiveness.
By making the use of this system, the various types of departments which are present in
health and social care enterprises will be able to ensure that they can attain their desired goals
and objectives effectively and efficiently. This can be done by displaying active cooperation and
coordination with each other which can be helpful in identifying the patient data properly and
taking of quick actions in the case of an emergency need of the patient. Thus quick decision-
making which is essential in health and social care settings can be ensured which will help in the
attainment of the goals and objectives.
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There can be a wide range of problems which can be faced while using this type of
communication system. These are explained as follows-
Lack of access to information- It has been seen that in certain health and social care
organizations the important data which is related with the patient cannot be accessed in a proper
way. Thus this can lead towards a wide range of problems and issues relating to the use of
communication in this way in the health and social care settings which can create an impact on
the work which is being done in these enterprises.
Problems relating with sensitive information- In health and social care settings, the
sensitive information relating to the patients is not being shared in a proper manner (Garg and
et.al., 2016). Thus this can lead towards issues related to data security.
The improvements which can be made in this particular communication system are
explained as follows-
Providing proper accessibility to information- In the terms of health and social care
settings, providing of proper accessibility to information has to be provided. In this way, it can
be said that the overall health and social care information can be managed in an appropriate
manner.
Providing appropriate security to information- When security is provided to the
information in health and social care enterprises it can help in ensuring that the data is safe and
secure. Thus in this way the desired improvements can be made in the communication system
without problems and issues.
Provider-to-Patient communication system- In this communication system, there is active
communication between the healthcare service providers and the patients which can help in
ensuring that the patients are reminded within time of their appointments and the medicines
which they have to take. Thus in this way it can be said that this type of communication system
can be quite helpful in ensuring that the overall goals and objectives can be attained.
The problems which are faced in this system are explained as follows-
Lapse in communication- Sometimes there may be a lapse in the communication between
the healthcare service provider and the patient which can lead towards problems and issues for
them (Lee and et.al., 2019). This can affect the overall working pattern within the organization.
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Lack of appropriate transfer of data- the appropriate transfer of data may not be ensured
sometimes when this particular communication pattern is followed. Thus in this way it can be
said that this can affect the cooperation and coordination between the Doctors and Patients.
The improvements which can be made for solving of these particular problems are
explained as follows-
Improving the communication- The communication can be improved within the health
and social care organizations which can therefore ensure that the overall level of goals and
objectives related with communication can be ensured effectively and efficiently.
Appropriately transferring the data- The communication can be improved within the
health and social care organizations by ensuring that the transfer of data is done in a proper
manner so that the availability of the data can be ensured in a proper manner (LOGHMANI and
MONFARED, 2018).
Emergency Alert and Notification System- In the terms of healthcare organizations it is
quite important that these type of systems are present. This is so because they will help in raising
an alarm in the case of an emergency and the Doctors and other healthcare workers which are
present can be notified accordingly. This type of system helps in ensuring that the overall work
can be done in a proper manner.
However there are also some problems which are present with this particular system.
These problems are explained as follows-
Lack of proper mechanism- If a proper mechanism for the purpose of sounding an
emergency alarm is not present then the Doctors and other healthcare workers may not receive
the alerts when required by them (Love and et.al., 2018). This can thus affect the overall working
pattern and can create problems and issues.
Lack of proper cooperation and coordination- Absence of a proper cooperation and
coordination can create an overall impact on the health and social care organizations. Thus in the
terms of communication this can lead towards creation of problems and issues for the
organization.
The use of various methods can be made so that these problems are removed. These type
of methods are explained as follows-
Creation of a proper mechanism- When a proper mechanism is created then this can make
sure that the different types of goals as well as objectives can attained. Thus it can be said that
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this type of mechanism can be extremely helpful in ensuring that the attainment of the desired
goals and objectives.
Creating proper cooperation and coordination- Creation of a proper cooperation and
coordination is quite crucial so that the level of goals and objectives which are to be attained in
the future can be determined. Also this can help a lot in ensuring that the communication
standards and protocols in health and social care settings can be maintained.
Impact of poor communication on individuals and others in health and social care settings
can be explained in the following manner-
Poor quality of care- When the communication is not done in a proper manner it affects
the individuals in health and social care settings because they are not able to receive good care
(Marsili and et.al., 2019). Thus in this way it can be said that an overall impact is created on the
individuals because they are not able to get god personalised care in a proper manner.
Poor patient outcomes- If the communication is not done appropriately in the health and
social care settings it can create an impact on the patient outcomes. The care which has to be
received by the patients in the health and social care organizations is affected as a result and they
are not able to get good medical services for the price which they are paying for availing these
services.
Wastage of resources- When the communication is not followed in a proper manner
within the health and social care organizations it can result in the wastage of resources. Thus in
this way it can be said that the overall quality of the services which has to be provided to the
patients can get affected as a result which can impact them a lot. Thus as a result the resources
which should have been used in a proper way are wasted which can impact the level of treatment
which is provided to the patients for the money which they have been paying.
High healthcare costs- Poor communication in the health and social care organizations
can lead towards high healthcare costs (Nimmon and Regehr, 2018). This can affect the
organizations as they are not able to provide the healthcare services appropriately. Therefore in
this way some of the people may not be able to get good healthcare services which can affect
them a lot. Certain sections of the society may not be able to get good healthcare services due to
this reason.
Long waiting time- When the communication is not done properly this can result in long
waiting time for the various patients. Thus in this way it can affect the healthcare organizations it
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can create long waiting time. Therefore it can be said that the different sections of the society can
be affected in this manner. The reason for this is that they may not get appropriate healthcare
facilities as desired by them even after paying a good price for it.
Incomplete follow-ups- When the communication is not done appropriately it can result
in incomplete follow-ups. Thus in this way it can affect the healthcare facilities which are
provided to the patients. In this way it can be said that the patients may not be given appropriate
facilities even after getting good treatment which may affect them a lot.
Improper recommendations- The lack of communication can lead towards wrong
recommendations which are provided to the patients. Thus this can affect the healthcare facilities
because the patients can be given wrong recommendations to follow which can create an impact
on the course of treatment which they are receiving.
Improper handling of the data- In health and social care organization, the data which is
related to the patients is quite sensitive as well as confidential. Therefore when there is absence
of good communication in these organizations the overall data which is related with the patients
may not be handled in a proper way which can create an impact on the data security of the
private data of the patients.
Use of communication techniques for supporting effective practice and overcoming poor
communication-
Clarity of information- Clarity of information is required so that the organizations are
able to make sure that they are able to communicate the desired information clearly (O’Lawrence
and Poyaoan-Linzaga, 2018). In the terms of health and social care organizations this type of
clarity can be useful for ensuring that the overall goals as well as objectives can be attained. Also
poor communication between the healthcare practitioners and the patients can also be avoided
using this techniques. This can happen as the conversation between the healthcare practitioners
and the patients can be done appropriately which will help in ensuring that the message is
communicated clearly and the required actions are taken accordingly.
Providing of clarification- Clarification can be provided for the purpose of information
because this can be quite helpful in ensuring that the misinterpretation of the messages and the
desired information can be avoided (Radovic Markovic and Salamzadeh, 2018). Therefore in this
way it can be said that the poor communication in the terms of healthcare can be avoided by
making the use of this particular technique as in this way the mistakes can be easily avoided.
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Use of simple language- Using a simple language can be quite helpful in ensuring that the
information which is being shared can be used in an appropriate manner. In health and social
care settings it is important that the health practitioners are able to communicate in a simple
manner with the patients through making the use of simple language which will help a lot by
solving a lot of problems as well as issues. This will ensure that the overall goals and objectives
can be attained easily. Also the problem of communication will be solved in an appropriate
manner by making the use of this particular technique.
Use of technology- Technology can be used appropriately for ensuring that in the health
and social care organizations the efficiency and effectiveness in the providing of different types
of services can be enhanced (Tavakoly Sany and et.al., 2018). Thus in this way any kind of
miscommunications, misinterpretations between the various types of healthcare practitioners and
patients can be avoided and the message which has to be transmitted can be transmitted very fast.
Also poor communication can be avoided in this manner within the organizations.
Team Collaboration- In the health and social care organizations the team collaboration
becomes very crucial so that the overall goals and objectives which are related with the
communication can be attained. When the teams within health and social care organizations are
able to cooperate and coordinate with each other in a proper manner it ensures that the
misinterpretations in the communication can be avoided. Also in this way poor communication
can be avoided. When the different departments and sections of hospitals collaborate in a team-
spirit this ensures that the efficiency and effectiveness in the treatment can be ensured for the
patients. This will be quite helpful in ensuring that the attainment of the various types of goals
and objectives which are related with the communication can be achieved and the treatment can
be provide to the patients in a better manner.
Setting of communication standards- Communication standards are expected particularly
within large organizations so that they are able to work in a proper manner using the hierarchical
standards (Villa, Gonçalves and Odong, 2017). Health and Social Care organizations must have
various types of communication standards so that the communication can be done in an
appropriate manner with the people who want to avail these particular services. Thus it can be
said that the setting of these type of standards will help in ensuring that the communication is
done according to the set standards and poor communication can be avoided by making the use
of these standards.
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CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it can be concluded that Effective Communication in Health and
Social Care can be ensured so that the various types of parameters are followed and the message
is transmitted properly. This helps in setting the communication in a particular manner for
ensuring the attainment of the desired level of short-term, medium-term and long-term goals as
well as objectives. There are different types of communication systems and practices which can
be particularly used here. There is a strong impact of poor communication on individuals and
others in health and social care settings. Also, the use of communication techniques can be made
so that the supporting of effective practice can be done and the poor communication can be
avoided.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Chan, Z. C. and Lai, C. K., 2016. The nurse-patient communication: Voices from nursing
students. International journal of adolescent medicine and health. 29(6).
Ferrell, B. and et.al., 2019. End-of-life nursing and education consortium communication
curriculum for interdisciplinary palliative care teams. Journal of palliative medicine.
22(9). pp.1082-1091.
Garg, R. and et.al., 2016. Type of multimorbidity and patient-doctor communication and trust
among elderly Medicare beneficiaries. International journal of family medicine. 2016.
Lee, S. W. H. and et.al., 2019. Communication Skills and Patient History Interview. In Clinical
Pharmacy Education, Practice and Research (pp. 79-89). Elsevier.
LOGHMANI, L. and MONFARED, M. B., 2018. Communication Facilators Between ICU
Team with and Family's Members in an Intensive Care Unit 2018. Astra Salvensis.
Love, B. and et.al., 2018. Communication and comprehensive cancer control coalitions: lessons
from two decades of campaigns, outreach, and training. Cancer Causes & Control.
29(12). pp.1239-1247.
Marsili, D. an et.al., 2019. Communication and health education in communities experiencing
asbestos. Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanita. 55(1). pp.70-79.
Nimmon, L. and Regehr, G., 2018. The complexity of patients' health communication social
networks: a broadening of physician communication. Teaching and learning in
medicine. 30(4). pp.352-366.
O’Lawrence, H. and Poyaoan-Linzaga, M., 2018. Effective communication provides early
intervention among Medicare patients. International Journal of Organization Theory &
Behavior.
Radovic Markovic, M. and Salamzadeh, A., 2018. The Importance of Communication in
Business Management. In Radovic Markovic, M., & Salamzadeh, A.(2018). The
Importance of Communication in Business Management, The 7th International
Scientific Conference on Employment, Education and Entrepreneurship, Belgrade,
Serbia.
Tavakoly Sany, S. B. and et.al., 2018. Health providers’ communication skills training affects
hypertension outcomes. Medical teacher. 40(2). pp.154-163.
Villa, S., Gonçalves, P. and Odong, T. V., 2017. Understanding the contribution of effective
communication strategies to program performance in humanitarian organizations.
Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
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