Employee Communication in Hospital/ Healthcare Industry

1. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
IN HEALTHCARE (HRM)

2. TABLES OF CONTENT
1. HR in healthcare
2. Employee communication in Healthcare
3. Barriers of Employee Communication in
Healthcare
4. Effects of Poor Communication in Healthcare
Industry
5. Ways to improve
6. Wellbeing Internal Communication
7. Conclusion

3. HUMAN RESOURCES IN HEALTHCARE
Human resources, when pertaining to health care, can be defined as the different kinds of clinical and
non-clinical staff responsible for public and individual health intervention.
As arguably the most important of the health system inputs, the performance and the benefits the system
can deliver depend largely upon the knowledge, skills and motivation of those individuals responsible for
delivering health services.
As well as the balance between the human and physical resources, it is also essential to maintain an
appropriate mix between the different types of health promoters and caregivers to ensure the system's
success

4. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
In healthcare organizations, communication efforts are often aimed at patients and outside partners. It can be
easy to overlook the importance of effective communication among internal team members. But
internal communication in healthcare is just as important than external communication.
Effective communication between team members is essential to making sure operations run smoothly and
patients get the care they need. It’s also key for healthcare organizations to have efficient methods of
communication between management and staff. Leaders must be able to quickly distribute things such
as policies, procedures, and compliance regulations and make sure employees read and understand
them.
Keeping these lines of communication open will help reduce liability risks and ensure that staff members
have the information they need to do their jobs well.
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5. SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
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6. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION BARRIES
❑ For hospital and healthcare environments, effective employee communication isn’t just
a matter of productivity or performance; it can quite literally be a matter of life or
death. Despite this, many hospital systems are using antiquated communication
channels that delay care and frustrate patients. This adds complexity to an already
overtaxed hospital infrastructure.
❑ The importance of effective communication in healthcare settings cannot be
understated. But all too often, it is carried out poorly because barriers to good
communication can seem difficult to overcome, or inefficient systems,
processes, tools and technologies are in use within healthcare organizations.
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7. ❑ A study conducted by the Joint
Commission found 80% of
serious medical errors were the
result of miscommunication
between caregivers during
patient handovers.
❑ In India, around 70% of deaths
that occur due to medical
negligence can be attributed to
human errors.
EFFECTS OF POOR COMMUNICATION IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Negative patient outcomes give rise to
financial damage. Nearly 75% of all
financial losses that hospitals suffer are
the result of one provider failing to tell
another provider something essential.
When patients don't feel like doctors are
giving them clear information, they're
more likely to sue the doctors for
malpractice.
Poor communication between doctors and
patients is the biggest reason for newly
filed malpractice lawsuits.
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Good communication is a linchpin of effective health care.

8. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION METHODS FOR THE HEALTHCARE
ORGANIZATION
Verbal Communication
 Verbal communication is perhaps the most
common and straightforward method. This
can involve things such as staff meetings,
performance meetings, and other formal
conversations.
 It’s important for healthcare organizations to
take all forms of verbal communication into
account when developing a plan for how to
improve communication in healthcare.
 How employees talk to each other in both
formal and informal settings is an important
part of workplace culture. And clear,
respectful verbal communication is
especially crucial in patient interactions.
Written Communication
 Healthcare organizations must produce formal, written records
for many aspects of operations.
 Written policies and procedures create a basis for effective
operations by ensuring employees know what’s expected of them
and understand how to perform essential tasks.
 Healthcare organizations must emphasize the importance of
accurately and thoroughly documenting patient files. Accurate
records impact everything from medicine dosage to patient
billing. Thorough patient charts can reduce the risk of medical
errors or liability due to billing mistakes.
 Things such as emails and memos are important aspects of
workplace communication and culture, as well.
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9. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION METHODS FOR THE HEALTHCARE
ORGANIZATION
Non Verbal Communication
 In doctor-patient interactions, how the doctor acts is often more important
than what the doctor says.
 Things such as facial expressions, body posture, and tone of voice make all the
difference in how the patient views the interaction – regardless of
what was conveyed verbally.
 Non-verbal communication cues are also important in internal communication in healthcare. Employees need to feel accepted and
appreciated by their supervisors and co-workers.
 Non-verbal cues are a huge part of helping both employees and patients feel comfortable within a healthcare facility. 9

10. IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
There are several communication strategies in healthcare that have been shown to
reduce the potential for medical errors and ensure efficient and effective
communication.
These include:
❑ Clarity from managers and administrators: Healthcare leaders should take
great care with how they communicate through meetings, emails, memos,
and policy manuals. Software tools can often help with written
communications. ‘Document management software’ can allow leaders to
collaborate on policies and procedures, and communicate about how to
implement changes in the facility.
❑ Employees shouldn’t be overwhelmed and overloaded with information.
For example, if you need physicians to know about new protocols, don’t send the
information to every single person who works for the hospital.
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11. WAYS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
❑ Utilize technology when appropriate.
Healthcare facilities are now required to
enter patient information into electronic
healthcare records. It’s important that
employees know how to use these
systems effectively so that patient data is
accurate, private, and easily accessible
for physicians who need it.
Quality care comes from informed care,
and EHRs are important in
communicating with providers about
patients’ medical histories and needs.
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 Incorporate effective
communication in your
organization’s mandatory training
program.
It’s hard to expect employees to
communicate effectively if they have
never been taught to do it. During
mandatory training sessions, instruct
employees on how to ask clarifying
questions, validate and verify patients’
thoughts and feelings, and engage in
empathetic listening.
Make sure employees understand the
elements of a two-way communication
dialogue, both with managers and
with the patients they care for.
 Make communication part
of your organization’s
culture.
When leaders of healthcare
organization model positive
communication behavior and
make it a core part of the
workplace culture, employees
will be encouraged to do the
same.
One can incorporate
communication into employee
feedback and evaluations, and
reward employees who engage
in good communications.

12. WAYS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
❑ Implement patient satisfaction
surveys.
Receiving feedback from patients
gives you insight into how your
facility’s patient experience can be
improved. Patient surveys can help
you determine reasons for
complaints, questions or concerns.
Additionally, they can shed light on
what team is doing right.
Consider using surveys to gain
valuable feedback and assess what
type of changes can be made to
enhance communication among your
staff and patients.
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 Schedule regular meetings
with staff.
Professional development is
key to improving
communication skills amongst
employees.
To achieve this, the leadership
needs to organize regular staff
meetings to discuss patient
feedback, streamline
communication channels, and
share their thoughts on
improving their general
performance.
 Improve training attendance
In organizations such as hospitals and
healthcare facilities, employees can
be too time-poor to actively seek out
and research opportunities
themselves, with the RSVP
function you can also drive higher
attendance by making it easier for
people to indicate their interest in
attending, and send them reminders
so they don’t forget.
The system can also be used to
provide ongoing training and
reminders about hospital processes
such as response procedures,
hospital codes, updates to computer
systems and compliance measures.

13. WELLBEING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The World Economic Forum has rightly tagged the current COVID-
19 crisis as ‘the world’s biggest psychological experiment’. Although
this has mainly manifested in often humorous social media posts as
the weeks of isolation set in, there are deeper issues that need to be
uncovered.
Anxiety and depression are two of the biggest mental health concerns
here. The symptoms of those two conditions are heavily exacerbated
by the necessary strictures of global lockdowns.
On top of that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) have also identified several stress responses that employees
potentially face.
These include difficulty in sleeping or focusing, changes in eating and
sleeping patterns, excessive worrying, and even insecurity when it
comes to work and life. Knowing which ones effect your people over
time is key to coming up with an effective, coordinated response.
Mental health and quality of life among healthcare
professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic in India

14. Mental health and quality of life among healthcare professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic in India

15. CONCLUSION
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When it comes to internal communications for wellbeing, this is complemented by a
clear plan for informing and ensuring that the communications are understood. With
the remote set up many companies are having to implement, it’s critical that
departments work more closely together for the common good given their specific
remits and relevant expertise.
Effective communication starts from the ground up and is reinforced by practitioners
who lead by example. By building a foundation of meaningful communication at all
levels—from entry-level to executive management.
Recognizing the importance of communication between healthcare professionals and
the hospital and healthcare setting is the first step. Taking the proactive next steps to
commit to and deliver effective improvements will benefit the organization, your
employees, and organization will be better equipped to provide quality patient care.

16. PRESENTATION DESIGN
This presentation uses the following typographies and websites :
▪ Titles: Times New Roman (Bold)
▪ Body copy: Times New Roman
LINKS:
•https://www.ultimatemedical.edu/blog/five-steps-for-improving-communication-between-
your-healthcare-staff-and-patients/
•https://www.hss.edu/conditions_health-literacy-tips-improve-communication-with-
healthcare-team.asp
•https://www.hipaajournal.com/communication-strategies-in-healthcare/
•https://www.powerdms.com/policy-learning-center/improve-internal-communication-
healthcare
•https://icplan.com/blog/internal-communications/wellbeing-internal-communications/
•https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/brb3.1837
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17. CREDITS
DONE BY THE STUDENT OF
M.N.W.C.
Hospital And Healthcare Management
• Naheeda Fatima Khan
(HHM2021004)
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THANK YOU!