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Title: Impacts of Miscommunication Between Inter-Teams on Patient Outcomes in Large Teaching Hospitals
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Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Thesis: Impacts of Miscommunication Between Medical Teams on Patient Outcomes in
Large Teaching Hospitals
a) Part 1: Introduction
a. Introduction
b. Purpose of the Study
c. Thesis Statement
b) Part 2: Review and Appraisal of the Literature
a. Review of Literature: Search Strategy
b. Review of Literature: Review
c. Figure 1: Prisma Flow Diagram
d. Appraisal
c) Part 3: Analysis & Synthesis of the Literature
a. Analysis
b. Theme 1: Factors causing miscommunication between medical teams
c. Theme 2: The absence of standardized communication processes
d. Theme 3: The impact of miscommunication on patient outcomes
e. Synthesis
d) Part 4: Discussion and Conclusion
a. Discussion
b. Conclusion and Implications
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Impacts of Miscommunication Between Medical Teams on Patient Outcomes in Large
Teaching Hospitals
Author
Affiliation
Course
Date
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Part 1: Introduction
Introduction
Miscommunication between medical teams providing healthcare services can expose
patients to significant safety risks. The factors contributing to miscommunication between
medical teams vary from one organization to the other (Tiwary et al., 2019). For instance,
miscommunication can be due to incompetency in one hospital but be a result of a breakdown in
communication channels or poor organizational culture in another organization. Whichever the
course, miscommunication among healthcare providers can avoidable complications, prolonging
the patient’s stay in the hospital. Howick et al. (2024), claim that one in every ten patients is
exposed to safety risks during healthcare provision, while over three million die annually
worldwide due to related safety incidents. In the US alone, at least 44,000 die annually from
avoidable errors. The number is relatively lower compared to the 1,700 who die from medical
errors in the UK. From these statistics, it is accurate to say that mistakes by medical teams can be
attributed to significant adverse effects on patient outcomes.
Communication breakdown involving health professionals can expose patients to
significant health risks (Buckman et al., 2022). One of the most common risks is misdiagnosis,
which involves patients getting diagnosed wrongly. Miscommunication can also result in delayed
treatment as some professionals wait for information that does not reach them. Mix-up of
information after such a delay could result in unintended inappropriate treatment which could
inevitably prolong the patient’s stay in the hospital. Many large teaching healthcare facilities
seek to reduce operating costs by optimizing the available resources to provide quality
healthcare. One of the most common ways of optimizing resources involves using medical teams
to provide care to patients suffering from different conditions. Medical teams usually comprise
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of doctors, nurses, and specialists from various disciplines of medicine (Hassan, 2018). Each
member is expected to bring their experience to the medical team, to jointly offer better quality
care, resulting in better health outcomes for patients. However, communication challenges may
arise, resulting in undesirable outcomes for patients. According to Stewart and Snowden (2021),
elaborate communication between medical teams is necessary to avoid exposing patients to
avoidable safety risks. Healthcare providers must adopt best practices in communication among
medical teams to reduce the adverse impact of miscommunication on patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate the impacts of miscommunication between
medical teams on patient outcomes in large teaching hospitals. Medical teams are expected to
offer better quality services since they are comprised of several healthcare providers. Contrary to
this expectation, medical teams experience communication challenges, resulting in
miscommunication. According to Wong et al. (2017), such miscommunication further results in
misdiagnosis and inaccurate treatment, which results in delayed hospital stays.
Miscommunication among healthcare providers in such medical teams also results in medical
errors which is attributed to major complications and even death of the patients. Buckman et al.
(2022) attribute miscommunication in medical teams to factors such as lack of knowledge in
specialty areas, incompetence of some members, and differences in theoretical versus practical
training. It could also be due to the personalities of the doctors, their attitudes, poor handwriting,
or fatigue. The study investigated the specific causes of miscommunication between medical
teams in large hospitals. It also determined how such miscommunication affects patients and
recommended ways to address these communication gaps to improve patient outcomes.
Thesis Statement
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Miscommunication in healthcare provision due to factors like the lack of standardized
operating procedures for communication and staff competency can inadvertently expose patients
to significant health risks. Some of the health risks include being assigned the wrong medication,
inaccurate diagnosis, and slower recovery time. All these risks adversely impact the patient’s
welfare, resulting in undesirable outcomes. The management of large teaching hospitals must
urgently address concerns of miscommunication among healthcare professionals working as part
of medical teams to help them significantly reduce undesirable health outcomes associated with
it to improve patients’ welfare and reduce the likelihood of extended hospitalizations.
Part 2: Review and Appraisal of the Literature
Review of Literature: Search Strategy
In part one, the background of the study revealed that specialists who work in medical
teams can sometimes face communication challenges which disrupt the flow of information
necessa...