Communication behaviour of hospital workers is inefficient

Healthcare systems seem to suffer inefficiencies because of poor communication. Coiera and Tombs (p 673) observed communication behaviour among 10 hospital healthcare workers and found that this resulted in an interruptive work place, which seemed to contribute to inefficient work practice. Medical staff generated twice as many interruptions via telephone and paging systems as they received; possible causes included a tendency to seek information from colleagues rather than printed materials, and poor provision of information for contacting specific individuals. Staff inferred the intention of messages from insufficient information. The authors conclude that hospital staff may need instruction in appropriate use of communication facilities and that some communication technology---voicemail and email with acknowledgment, cellular telephones, and message screening---may be beneficial.


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Relevant Article

Communication behaviours in a hospital setting: an observational study
Enrico Coiera and Vanessa Tombs
BMJ 1998 316: 673-676. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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