Improving clinical communication: A view from psychology

Recent research has studied the communication behaviors of clinical hospita l workers and observed a tendency for these workers to use communication be haviors that were often inefficient. Workers were observed to favor synchro nous forms of communication, such as telephone calls and chance face-to-fac e meetings with colleagues, even when these channels were not effective. Sy nchronous communication also contributes to a highly interruptive working e nvironment, increasing the potential for clinical errors to be made. This p aper reviews these findings from a cognitive psychological perspective, foc using on current understandings of how human memory functions and on the po tential consequences of interruptions on the ability to work effectively. I t concludes by discussing possible communication technology interventions t hat could be introduced to improve the clinical communication environment a nd suggests directions for future research.