Module 10 Written Assignment: Contemporary Issues and Trends

MODULE 10 2 Module 10 Written Assignment: Contemporary Issues and Trends For this written assignment I chose to find a contemporary issue based off the category “Interdisciplinary Teamwork and Collaboration”. I decided to research how a lack of effective communication affects patients and the workplace environment because, personally, I find it hard to work as a team. I am more of a “get it done by myself” kind of person. I am also the type of person who bottles up things that bother me, and “suck it up” rather than talking about it. This is both a good thing, and a bad thing. It’s great to be able to be independent, but in a healthcare setting it is important to maintain proper communication and collaboration with the entire workplace or team. After researching the top five effects of ineffective communication, I found that it can lead to medical errors, long wait time for patients, workplace conflict, making poor decisions, and increased stress both individually and as a workplace team. Although some mishaps are unavoidable, effective communication can result in better outcomes for patients and the overall medical office. Medical errors are the number one factor I found to be affected by a lack of effective communication. Most practices do have a system for preventing errors from occurring, however, poor communication is the number one reason that medical errors occur when there is a system in place (Hicks, 2018). Documentation is the best method in which to communicate patient events between medical office staff, nurses, and physicians. Errors are inevitable, they can’t all be avoided, but when information is documented accurately, healthcare professionals are able to identify and correct mistakes before an adverse medical event occurs. Another element affected by a lack of effective communication is the waiting time for patients.