Wk 2.1 Professional Communications in Pharmacy Practice Part 1

Lecture Objectives

• Define professional communications and establish its significance within pharmacy practice.

• Identify critical elements of interpersonal communication essential for patient care.

• Discuss strategies to safeguard patient privacy during communications.

• Recognize barriers to effective communication and strategies to minimize these impediments.

• Understand factors impacting communication with culturally diverse patients and those with unique communication needs.

• Define what constitutes appropriate language in interactions with patients and healthcare professionals.

Importance of Communication

• Clear, respectful, and effective exchange of information between pharmacists, patients, healthcare professionals

• AHPRA Registration Standard: Adherence to standards set by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

• National Competency Standards: for pharmacists in Australia.

• Charter of Healthcare Rights: Highlighting rights including safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy, and feedback.

• Access to resources like the Communicating for Safety portal to improve communication in healthcare settings.

Common Communication Issues

• Barriers that include:

  • Rude and discourteous attitudes.

  • Providing incorrect or conflicting information.

  • Incomplete or incomprehensible communication (e.g., use of jargon).

  • Neglecting the specific needs of individuals (e.g., requiring interpreters or disability considerations).

  • Failures in interprofessional team communication.

Communication and Patient Safety

Key Attributes of Patient-Safe Communication

1. Mutual Understanding:

   • Based on perceptions and interpretations of the message by sender and receiver.

     • What they believe the massage says

     • The individual sending the message

   • Risks of misunderstandings if assumptions about patient understanding are made.

   • Overcoming barriers

     • Avid the use of equivocal term

     • Avoid to use jargon

     • Avoid abstract, non-specific language e.g. does it hurt a lot?

     • Taking a nonjudgemental stance

2. Patient Centeredness:

   • Shift from viewing patients as passive recipients health care.

   • Emphasis on informing patients, involving them in decisions, and respecting their cultural values.

   • Patient-centred care

3. Strategies for Patient-Centered Communication:

   • Acknowledge patients.

   • Provide clear information

   • Provide explanation

   • Express empathy.

   • Use prompting

   • Active listening

   • Seek clarification

4. Active Listening, Prompting and Probing

   • Importance of demonstrating listening through eye contact, head nodding, and supportive verbal affirmations.

   • Use prompting questions to delve deeper into patient narratives without redirecting discussions.

   • Type of probing question

     • Clarification

     • Justification

     • Relevance

     • Exemplification

     • Extension

     • Restatement

     • Echo

     • Consensus

5. Non-verbal Communication

• Elements include:

  • Physical distancing: Respect personal space

  • Body Movements: Open and relaxed posture to convey availability and approachability.

  • Eye Contact: Direct eye contact during most parts of communication enhances connection.

  • Facial Expressions: Should align with spoken words to convey sincerity and understanding

6. Culture Competency in Communication

• Ethnic and religious diversity may bring special cases in the spectrum of human differences

• e.g. less common ground for languages, beliefs and practices relating to kinship, family, marriage, chlid-rearing, touch, gender, clothing, death, disease, etc

Risk Factors for Patient-Safe Communication

In Pharmacy Environment

• External noise

• dispensary counter

• lack of privacy

• frequent interruptions

• involvement of third parties

For Pharmacists

• Lack of time

• Lack of knowledge

• Lack of confidence

• Poor communication skills

• Fear of moving out of scope of practice

• Lack of awareness of patients needs

• Emotional barriers

• Attitude

For Patients

• Lack of time

• Emotional barriers

• Poor perception of illness

• Perception of medication

Strategies to Overcome Barriers - The 4 A's

1. Attitude: Cultivate a positive approach.

2. Atmosphere: Create a conducive environment for communication.

3. Approach: Utilize appropriate interpersonal strategies during interactions.

4. Availability: Ensure time is allocated for effective dialogue.

Conclusion

• Reinforcement of the significance of professional communication in pharmacy practice to enhance patient safety and care outcomes.