Downplaying language in doctor-patient communication is risky
BY JUDY OGUTU
The Entrepreneur handbook defines communication as sharing of information between different individuals. It includes sharing of ideas, concepts, imaginations, behaviours and written content. The late James Carey, American communication theorist, media critic and journalism instructor recognised that communication serves an instrumental role and fulfils a ritualistic function that reflects humans as members of a social community.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), communication is at the heart of who we are as human beings. Given that it is the human way of exchanging information, it also entails symbolic sharing of meaning as well as communicative acts. The global health body goes on to state that one of the areas quickly gaining ground is health communication. This is because of its emphasis on combining theory and practise in understanding communication processes as well as changing human behaviour.
Importance of communication in healthcare
WHO notes that health communication has much to celebrate and contribute, adding that by bringing together researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines and adopting multi-level theoretical approaches, health communicators have a unique opportunity to provide meaningful input in improving and saving lives. The WHO however states categorically that the complexity of health behaviour determinant requires a multi-disciplinary approach for effectively promoting change. Notably, owing to the rapidly changing communication channels, health communication interventions need to make extra efforts to meet their audiences at their level of technology use.
An article posted in Regis College website indicates that communication forms a critical component in all steps of the healthcare process. “Whether it be a clinic accurately sharing patient information with another facility, a group of doctors, nurses, specialists and other staff at the hospital, the need for concise effective communication is always present in the health field,” the article states. Taking cognisance of this need, health professionals and institutions need to take note of the importance of communication in healthcare if they are to thrive, the article adds.
Communication failures and medical malpractice
Organisations with strong communication policies have been able to enrich their patients’ health while those with communication problems have harmed their patients’ lives.
In 2016, a US-based organisation known as CRICO Strategies presented a report titled Failures in Communication Contribute to Medical Malpractice. The report focusing on the US healthcare system identified risks in communication failures as a factor in 30 per cent of all medical malpractice claims. These claims involved communication breakdowns where acts, figures or findings got lost between the individuals who had that information and those who needed it across the spectrum of healthcare services and settings. The report focused on general medicine, obstetrics, nursing and surgery and identified specific opportunities to improve skills and systems to mitigate those risks. According to the study, poor communication cost the US healthcare system USD1.7 billion (KSh.170 billion) in malpractice costs and almost 2,000 lives.
The story is not any different in Asia. In an article written by Tiwary et al and published in the Wellcome Open Research, it is estimated that 27 per cent of medical malpractice is because of communication failures. The authors went on to state that better communication can reduce medical errors and patient injury. “Poor communication can result in various negative outcomes such as decreased adherence to treatment, patients’ dissatisfaction and inefficient use of resources,” the study by Tiwary et al further continued.
Patient’s poor communication
In Kenya, poor communication has been blamed for deaths as well as high cost of healthcare in the country. In 2016, Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi’s School of Business, Bitange Ndemo published an article in the Daily Nation paper of October 17th, 2016 where he presented the issue in a different way. He indicated that he had interviewed 28 doctors, all of whom confirmed that they had an incident where a patient misled them. “The consequences of poor communication vary from drug interaction and unnecessary surgery to death. It is a costly affair,” he then argued. It was also his contention that patients misled doctors both consciously and unconsciously. The majority of those who did so consciously felt embarrassed to tell the truth. He also observed that another problem related to the issue was language capacity and literacy. “Some patients, if they cannot speak in English, lack words to describe exactly how they feel.” Unfortunately, because most health records are kept in analogue form, the issue is compounded because the patient may come back and be given the same treatment, prolonging the cycle or the disease.
Ndemo, however, agrees with the above studies that health miscommunication is not unique to Kenya. Many countries suffer the same problem, but the difference is that they keep the data and analyse it for trends and other vital clues. Improvements in Kenya therefore, can be achieved once there is heightened awareness of the problem and statistics well known.
Judy Ogutu is the client services manager at InterManagement Group Kenya. Email: ogutu.judy@gmail.com
