Automate Print & Mail: Healthcare Communication

Top 8 Communication in Healthcare Strategies to Boost Patient Experience

Did you know there were 12,629 medical negligence claims against the National Health Services (NHS) in 20-21? And there are thousands of cases of incorrect diagnoses, risking patient safety and putting the hospital’s reputation on the line. Improving your approach to communication in healthcare and taking immediate measures is the only way to avoid such situations.

It is impossible to solve these problems overnight, nor can they be sustained indefinitely.

Understanding the importance of communication in healthcare allows firms to overcome these obstacles and set themselves apart.

This blog covers the best strategies hospitals, clinics, and GPs can implement to serve their patients better and prioritise their healthcare!

Let us dive in!

What Are the Benefits of Effective Communication in Healthcare?

Effective healthcare communication is a win for medical providers and patients. It helps resolve discrepancies, keep patients informed, and facilitates transparent and reliable services!

Overall Patient Satisfaction and Experience

Apart from accurate diagnosis and prescriptions, hospitals need to do a lot more to achieve patient satisfaction. Patients must have a positive experience, from booking an appointment with you to the flexibility in collecting their reports.

Thus, involving your entire staff to boost effective communication in healthcare is essential to ensure patient satisfaction.

Planning and implementing the best practices in healthcare communication can help you succeed in getting positive reviews from your patients and improving your brand reputation!

Difficulty in Diagnosing the Patient’s Medical Conditions

Doctors rely on the patient’s input during consultations to make a diagnosis. But what happens when they hide critical details about their medical background or do not reveal all the symptoms accurately?

The result is incorrect diagnosis and healthcare, resulting in unsatisfactory services. Implementing effective communication in healthcare can help providers make the patients feel more comfortable and heard, motivating them to cooperate with you! It also allows healthcare professionals to maintain personal connections and learn about the patient’s history, boosting diagnostic accuracy!

Following Medical Instructions Carefully

Failing to implement proper healthcare communication can result in your patients not following your medical advice. There could also be other reasons for them to not stick to their prescriptions, like

They do not trust you enough to listen to you.
They think you fail to pay adequate attention to what they say.
As a result of your failure to explain why specific instructions must be followed, they want a second opinion.

Improving your communication in healthcare plans is beneficial to eradicate such possibilities and ensure patients follow your treatment regimens.

Staff Satisfaction

Another primary benefit of working on your communication in healthcare plans is improved staff morale and productivity levels.

Most strategies around healthcare communication encourage providers to treat their staff members better because they equally contribute to their patient’s medical care. From scheduling consultations and maintaining accurate records, they assist you in providing high-quality services and increasing brand loyalty.

Patient Safety and Improved Healthcare Outcomes

A recent study on Missed Diagnostic Opportunities (MDOs) revealed that

25% of MDOs occur because of incorrect interpretations of diagnostic tests
24% happen because of issues around diagnostic information tracking and follow-ups
12% of MDOs happen because of specialist referral issues
6% occur because of specific actions of patients, like not showing up to appointments, etc.

The only way to handle these sensitive issues is to learn how to improve communication skills in healthcare and implement them. They help protect patients’ healthcare and safeguard their interests in medical settings.

Barriers to Effective Communication in Healthcare

Often, hospitals struggle to keep up with healthcare communication because they face frequent obstacles, like

Patient Discomfort

Patients might not feel comfortable revealing information about themselves, hampering the overall communication in healthcare organisations. The reasons could be

They were exploited sexually or mentally
They feel disrespected or embarrassed
They think doctors cannot help them
They feel intimidated by their healthcare providers
The surroundings are not discreet, making them uncomfortable speaking openly, etc.

These reasons are critical—and hospitals must deal with them sensitively and carefully to avoid malpractice or improper conduct reports.

Language Challenges

There are over 4.2 million non-English residents in England and Wales, and 13% speak Polish. Overcoming these language barriers is one of the most complicated restrictions to effective healthcare communication unless you are open to hiring interpreters.

Patients might be unable to communicate their symptoms or medical issues, leading to diagnosis issues and poor healthcare services. Not having proper facilities for such people under your healthcare communication strategies can negatively affect your acquisition and retention rates.

Doctors Not Giving Adequate Time for Every Patient Consultation

How often did you walk into a doctor’s office and notice they are running out of time? Perhaps, they compel you to speak faster by their body language or do not take enough time to analyse your condition. It can be one of the primary barriers to effective communication in healthcare and the start of multiple errors and patient dissatisfaction.

Not Handling Patient Files Responsibly

Mismanagement or a breach of patient records is a GDPR offence with penalties running in millions. Thus, you may consider data handling a challenge to proper healthcare communication, pushing organisations to draft step-by-step procedures to secure patient information.

8 Best Practices in Healthcare Communication

Now that you know why is communication important in healthcare, let us move ahead and discuss the top eight strategies to ensure effective patient correspondence:

#1 Be Polite and Gentle With Your Patients

Your body language, tone, and voice impact the impression you make on your patients, primarily during the first consultation. Doctors, staff members, etc., should ensure they speak to them gently and listen to what they have to say.

One of the best healthcare communication practices also includes the doctor being seated down for the consultation. They should be face-to-face with the patients to ignite confidence and trust.

Moreover, try giving patients enough time and space to open up and share their medical data to help you take the treatment ahead!

#2 Ask and Respond to Questions

Another smooth way to boost healthcare communication plans is to interact with your patients freely. Ask open-ended questions that allow them to speak more than usual and let you collect adequate data for diagnosis and treatment.

Ensure that you or your staff members do not interrupt the patient. Also, encourage patients to ask you questions or clear their doubts. Try explaining how you are glad to answer every question because it matters to you.

A method called ‘ask me three’ is an effective communication in healthcare technique to get patients to talk to you more. You tell the patients that they can ask you any three questions regarding their healthcare. Such techniques help you make the session interactive and calm anxious patients.

#3 Value the Patient’s Choices and Preferences

You cannot compel a patient to follow your treatment regimen. Once you understand the importance of communication in healthcare, come up with ways to find common ground between you and your patients.

Ask them about their preferences and try to draft a healthcare plan accordingly. If you must make some changes, explain the reason clearly and persuade them to agree!

Furthermore, be aware of the patient’s allergic reactions, past medical reports, treatment responses, etc., to understand their background as a critical healthcare communication strategy.

#4 Avoid Using Medical Jargon

We can understand how breaking down complex medical terms for a patient can be tricky. But, hospitals and doctors should try their best to avoid jargon and help patients understand everything.

Try to maintain proper communication in healthcare and improve the patient experience by keeping them informed!

Not using medical terminology also helps you prevent litigation by being upfront about a patient’s healthcare details and encouraging them to make their own decisions.

#5 Keep All Patient Details Confidential

Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other institutions should consider data privacy as an essential healthcare communication program. They must facilitate patient correspondence and protect the data they collect!

Try using automated data management systems to secure all patient information using a single platform. Restrict access to only authorised personnel and change your passwords frequently!

You may use PostGrid’s direct mail API for effective communication in healthcare to send medical documents safely. They include

Patient statements.
Bills or invoices.
Receipts.
Discharge summaries.
Test results.
Mental and health records.
Consent forms.
Patient instructions.
Transfer documents, etc.

#6 Train Your Staff Frequently

Investing in efficient staff training programs and helping them keep up with the latest healthcare communication strategies is necessary. They must know the medical code of conduct, staff etiquette, etc., to assist you in offering quality services.

Remember that your patient interactions start at the reception level. Patients might contact the desk to book an appointment, enquire about the timings, or speak to a specialist. Hence, hold frequent staff meetings and boost coordination as a primary part of your communication in healthcare programs.

#7 Employ Telemedicine to Reach Patients Remotely

Embracing the latest medical technology trends helps hospitals or doctors connect with patients who cannot reach them physically. Telemedicine is one of the best practices in healthcare communication that bridges the gap between healthcare providers and patients.

It allows you to provide better facilities to people and explore broader audiences beyond geographical boundaries.

However, hospitals or clinics must make many changes to accommodate telemedicine into their daily workflows. They can improve their mobile application and website under their healthcare communication strategies to let patients explore their consultation options.

Patients should have a quick choice to visit the doctor’s office personally or confirm an online session. The interface should be user-friendly and speedy, allowing you to promote your telemedicine facilities for better healthcare communication and set yourself apart from the competition.

#8 Consider Your Patient’s Feelings

Healthcare providers must track how a patient responds to a treatment mentally, emotionally, and physically. And they must discuss these things to make patients feel their doctors care for them and have their best interests at heart.

Otherwise, they might feel distinct, affecting their healthcare communication negatively. It may also put their health at risk because the patients might feel reluctant to share any side effects or reactions, etc.

They might also abandon their treatment because it is mentally challenging. Thus, one of your top communication in healthcare plans is to consider and respond to your patient’s emotions and track their progress!

Differences Between Intrahospital and Interhospital Healthcare Communication

Many hospitals ask what is good communication in healthcare. It helps them manage their intrahospital and interhospital correspondence properly.

Ideally, organisations should curate different strategies to deal with them to get the best out of their programs. Here’s how:

Intrahospital Communication

Often, doctors need to refer patients to different specialists within the hospital or transmit their reports and files. In these cases, intrahospital healthcare communication strategies come into use and help them complete these tasks efficiently.

Some more examples of interhospital correspondence include

Scheduling surgeries.
Dealing with patient room changes.
Assigning tests.
Following up with patients for upcoming appointments, etc.

Handling these activities helps hospitals cut administrative costs, boost productivity, and save time. It also enables them to maintain a positive brand image with effective communication in healthcare, welcoming patients and assuring them of excellent services.

You can add healthcare communication plans, like

Working on an integrated interface,
Reviewing employee performance frequently, and
Collecting patient feedback to boost intrahospital activities.

Interhospital Communication

Hospitals may need to collaborate with other hospitals of the same provider or completely separate organisations. The reason can be

Sending medical equipment to other facilities.
Coordinating with specialists at other institutions.
Coming up with combined healthcare services to treat uncommon or complex medical conditions, etc.

However, there are several clashes between organisations regarding such activities, impacting patients’ overall healthcare. Working on your communication in healthcare to manage all interhospital tasks helps you stay prepared for every situation.

If you need assistance, try using PostGrid’s direct mail API to send documents or reports to patients and third parties via postal services. We help all organisations improve their healthcare communication strategies by streamlining their mailing processes and reducing manual effort!

Final Thoughts

It is the need of the hour to draft well-thought and helpful communication in healthcare plans to grow your organisation and offer quality services. These strategies help hospitals gain the trust of their patients and retain them for several years.

PostGrid’s direct mailing solutions assist healthcare firms with their document printing and shipping tasks in one place. Also, they can conduct marketing campaigns to increase revenue and improve brand awareness.

Request a demo or email at sales@postgrid.co.uk to learn more about how PostGrid helps firms improve communication in healthcare strategies.

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