How Clear Communication Can Prevent Medical Errors in Hospitals

Healthcare professionals depend on stringent processes and clear communication to prevent medical errors, such as misdiagnoses or incorrect management, and ensure that each patient is offered the highest quality care possible. 

Without clear communication, clinicians are more susceptible to cognitive overload, missed connections, and oversights that can directly impact patient safety and health. Additionally, medical errors increase the risk of malpractice claims which is costly and damaging to a hospital’s reputation. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how medical errors occur in hospital settings, the value of communication systems such as secure messaging and standardized handoffs, and how hospitals can help prevent medical errors with improved clinical communication. 

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The High Cost of Medical Errors 

Patient safety is the top priority for healthcare providers. Medical errors put patient care at risk, along with your organization’s reputation 

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Statistics on medical errors and malpractice costs

A 2023 study by Johns Hopkins, published in BMJ Quality & Safety, discovered that in US clinical settings, 795,000 patients die or are permanently disabled annually due to diagnostic errors.  

Medical errors – whether oversights, incorrect medications, or misdiagnoses – can often be attributed to miscommunication in a clinical setting. A study conducted by the Joint Commission found that 67% of communication errors are related to handoffs. Another study found that failure to keep colleagues informed and sharing the appropriate level of information was one of the main communication errors that contributed to patient harm.

Not only do medical errors directly impact patient safety, but they can also lead to costly damages such as malpractice claims. A report by Candello, formerly CRICO Strategies, found that 30% of all malpractice claims involve a communication failure. These healthcare communication failures resulted in $1.7 billion in malpractice costs.

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Common types of communication breakdowns

Inaccuracies in medication orders or misdiagnoses can have severe consequences for patients and healthcare providers alike. Communication mistakes can put patient safety at risk, extend hospital stays, or lead to serious health problems. Common types of communication breakdowns include:

• Miscommunication between teams: Miscommunication during patient handoffs can result in oversights or redundancies in care. Lack of complete information can also lead to inaccurate or incomplete diagnoses. 
• Technology breakdowns: Ineffective or inaccessible tools can make documentation and communication more difficult, resulting in miscommunication, information gaps, and delays. 
• Documentation gaps: Misdiagnoses or inaccurate treatments can happen when clinicians don’t have all of the correct information to make a confident, informed decision. Unclear documentation or oversights – such as noting a patient's allergies – can lead to the administration of the incorrect medication. 

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Root Causes of Clinical Communication Errors

Communication errors aren’t entirely preventable, but there are foundational communication components hospitals can address to decrease the chance for miscommunication. 

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1. Outdated tools 

Many hospital communication systems rely on outdated tools and methods. One report estimates that 90% of US healthcare organizations still rely on fax machines, while another 39% use pagers.

These tools were not designed for the speed and complexity of modern healthcare environments. For example, a physician might page a clinician without any confirmation about if and when the message was received, leaving them in the dark. In other instances, nurses may be forced to interrupt patient care in order to return a call or retrieve important data. Additionally, faxes are not inherently secure and can’t convey critical context that images or digital files can communicate. 

Outdated tools create information gaps and delays in care that result in communication breakdowns due to the lack of real-time two-way communication capabilities. Without read receipts, message prioritization, or secure file-sharing, clinicians are forced to toggle between manual systems, increasing the chance of oversight.

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2. Fragmented workflows

Clinical teams often operate across multiple platforms and departments. Without a unified clinical communication platform, these fragmented workflows lead to siloed information. For instance, a radiologist may upload imaging results into one system while the attending physician checks another. If the systems aren’t integrated within a unified platform, then providers will ultimately spend time going back and forth between platforms to find the correct results. 

This fragmentation not only delays decision-making but also increases the risk of conflicting or incomplete information, leading to treatment delays or errors in patient care.

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3. Patient handoffs

Miscommunication during patient handoffs are thought to be the cause of over 80% of major medical errors. This startling fact emphasizes the importance of establishing patient handoff best practices. 

Smooth handoffs are crucial during shift changes or when patients are being transferred from one department to another. During these times, the clinical team’s ability to share treatment plans, any unique needs, and vital patient data is critical to maintain continuity of care.

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4. Human factors

Fatigue, shift changes, and overwhelm from administrative burden contribute to the challenge of  processing and relaying information correctly. Multiple studies have shown that burnout among physicians has significantly increased the risk of self-reported errors, which can translate into adverse events. 

These factors emphasize the need for modern tools that reduce cognitive load. When providers have communication tools that alleviate the stress and workload associated with administrative tasks, they can better focus on delivering patient care. 

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Evidence-Based Benefits of Improved Clinical Communication

Below is further evidence of how improved clinical communication directly impacts patient safety, clinical response time, and quality of care. 

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1. Reduced errors and improved patient safety

Relying solely on pager systems to communicate can create workflow bottlenecks and lead to delays in care. Alternatively, research has shown that providers who implement secure texting experienced a 59% decrease in communication failures.

One hospital even decreased emergency activation response times from 20 minutes to five seconds after implementing a real-time scheduling, messaging, and emergency surgical activation workflow across its organization. 

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2. Faster response and better outcomes

Improved clinical communication also helps enable faster response times, resulting in better patient outcomes. 

For one hospital, setting up automated and immediate Code STEMI alerts was critical for reducing emergency code activation time. The automated alerts – which instantly notified the entire STEMI team, overriding silent and do-not-disturb settings – improved operational efficiency by reducing administrative overhead and improving workflow reliability. Additionally, easy sharing of patient demographics and secure ECG transmission sped up the administrative steps required to get the patient to definitive management.

In another example, switchboard operators at Michael Garron Hospital were fielding an overwhelming number of calls, 80% of which were internal. After deploying a real-time communication platform, the number of switchboard calls dropped by 15-20% per month. 

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3. Efficiency and clinician satisfaction

Clinical communication platforms that enable seamless on-call scheduling and closed-loop messaging help cut down on phone tag, decrease the number of missed connections, and reduce administrative burden. 

For one hospital, implementing a clinical communications platform for physician scheduling and coordination helped streamline consults. Physicians could communicate asynchronously and on their own time. Administrative workflows also improved – reports that once required heavy administrative work could now be generated quickly using Hypercare.

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How to Prevent Medical Errors with Improved Clinical Communication

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1. Standardize handoff protocols

Clear communication during patient handoffs is critical. It’s essential for healthcare organizations to establish a standardized procedure for clinical teams to follow during shift changes or department transfers. 

For instance, the SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) technique is a common framework for exchanging patient information with physicians. I-PASS is another handoff tool for patient transitions. The acronym stands for: 

• Illness severity 
• Patient summary 
• Action list 
• Situation awareness and contingency planning 
• Synthesis by receiver 

No matter which framework your organization follows, the handoff protocols must be communicated with all departments to ensure consistency across the organization. Standardization adds structure to the handoff process, which can reduce communication oversights and help with preventing medical errors. 

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2. Adopt secure, integrated communication platforms

Replacing pagers and faxes with secure, real-time messaging platforms facilitates the sharing of patient information, insights, and collaboration among healthcare teams, reducing the risk of medical errors due to misunderstandings.

Features like role-based messaging, read receipts, escalation, and priority alerts, provide assurance that messages are delivered and acknowledged. 

Secure, real-time messaging reduces delays, prevents miscommunication, and allows clinicians to act quickly on time-sensitive updates such as lab results or changes in patient status.

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3. Provide training and change management

When introducing new technology, extensive training and strategic change management is critical for adoption. Training ensures clinicians understand how to use new tools effectively within their existing workflows. Change management addresses cultural and behavioral barriers – such as reluctance to adopt new systems or fear of disrupting established routines. 

When hospitals support staff through hands-on training, secure leadership support, and set clear expectations, communication platforms can be adopted quicker. 

For example, Health Sciences North (HSN), a tertiary care teaching hospital in Northeastern Ontario, implemented Hypercare to improve communication and collaboration amongst providers by replacing pagers with secure messaging. 

After a three-month planning period and a one-week training program with Hypercare, the platform was successfully deployed. Within the first month of implementation, 70% of eligible users were active, over 45,000 messages were sent, and 46 different on-call schedules were imported and managed through Hypercare.

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4. Monitor and measure improvements

Tracking communication-related metrics allows hospitals to identify gaps or trends to inform operational decisions and improve the quality of care. 

Below are key metrics related to preventing medical errors: 

• Response times: Track response times to critical alerts to understand how quickly teams are mobilized in emergencies. 
• Adverse events: Monitor the number of preventable adverse events related to handoffs and code activations. 
• Patient outcomes: Measure patient outcomes, specifically as they relate to communication events. Monitor handoffs and track messages to understand if there’s enough context being shared for decision-making. 
• Staff satisfaction: Track platform usage by department, role, or individual. Additionally, you can conduct surveys to understand staff satisfaction and gather feedback for improvement. 

Hypercare offers visibility into analytics such as response times and audit logs through a centralized dashboard. These analytics can be used to optimize communication workflows, and support quality assurance across your healthcare organization.

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Real‑World Examples: Minimizing the Risk of Medical Errors

Below are real examples of how hospitals used a clinical communications platform to reduce medical errors. 

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1. Reducing code activation times 

Mile Bluff Medical Center, a 40-bed acute care hospital in rural Wisconsin, was operating with an outdated communication infrastructure that caused frequent delays during critical moments, impacting patient outcomes.

The hospital sought to upgrade its system to match the urgency and complexity of its evolving, modern clinical workflows. Mile Bluff chose to partner with Hypercare to implement real-time scheduling, messaging, and surgical activation workflows live across the organization. 

The results were faster activation times with fewer delays. Activation time for urgent and emergency surgeries dropped from 20-30 minutes to just five seconds. Additionally, over 70,000 secure messages were sent in the first six months.

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2. Improving STEMI workflows

Real-time communication in high-stakes emergencies such as STEMI activations is critical to preventing medical errors.

A leading regional hospital in Ontario, Canada, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) sought to enhance its emergency response capabilities across multiple critical scenarios, including Code STEMI, Code Blue, Code Stroke, Life and Limb activations, and other urgent code team activations.

RVH partnered with Hypercare to implement a real-time, automated emergency response system. The results were reduced emergency code activation time, enhanced decision-making, and improved operational efficiency. 

“Activating a STEMI is now seamless,” says Dr. Mark Kotowycz, Interventional Cardiologist & Medical Director, Cardiac Intervention Unit, RVH. “We no longer wait for pages to be returned; the entire team is alerted instantly. The faster we mobilize, the sooner we can open the artery, directly improving patient outcomes.”

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3. Enabling secure messaging and integrated scheduling

Physician scheduling is a core priority for improved clinical communications. Having real-time visibility into who is on call enables faster, easier coordination and reduces delays in care. 

As an example, Sault Area Hospital (SAH) sought to replace its outdated physician scheduling software to modernize and improve how its physicians coordinate and communicate.

SAH partnered with Hypercare for its scheduling and clinical coordination solutions. Physicians began using Hypercare as their primary communication tool for consults, preferring secure messaging over phone calls in the majority of interactions. This shift dramatically improved consult efficiency.

“Hypercare has made a real difference in how we communicate during consults,” ‍says Dr. Derek Garniss, Chief Medical Information Officer at SAH. “Being able to securely message and share images and results right from my phone has made my workflow significantly more efficient.” 

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Preventing Medical Errors With a Unified Clinical Communications Platform

Strong communication is critical for patient safety in hospital settings. Clinical teams must have clear protocols, standardized handoffs, and ongoing training to strengthen communication processes and decrease the potential for oversights. 

Modern clinical communication platforms can also drastically reduce medical errors and give clinicians the tools to deliver exceptional patient care. Hypercare offers a single platform to unify clinical and healthcare teams, improve communication and interoperability, and streamline workflows with secure messaging, on-call scheduling, pager replacement, and more. Learn more about Hypercare’s clinical communication solutions by scheduling a demo.