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Understanding interprofessional communication: a content analysis of email communications between doctors and nurses
C N C Smith1, S D Quan, D Morra
1Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, University Health Network , Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C4;
Analyzing physician-nurse email communications revealed that most messages were non-urgent information exchanges. This study highlights how smartphone-based email systems can improve clinical communication documentation and analysis.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Informatics
- Clinical Communication
- Medical Education
Background:
- Clinical communication errors are a significant problem in hospitals, often stemming from undocumented verbal interactions.
- Utilizing smartphones and email for resident-nurse communication shifted interactions to a documented, analyzable format.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe interprofessional email communication between doctors and nurses on general internal medicine wards.
- To analyze the content and characteristics of these electronic communications.
Main Methods:
- Prospective analysis of email communications between physicians and nurses over six months.
- Statistical analysis of communication volume, frequency, and response times.
- Content analysis of randomly selected emails for urgency, emotion, language, interaction type, and subject matter.
Main Results:
- Over 13,000 emails were analyzed, with most communications being non-urgent information conveyance.
- Nurses frequently requested callbacks or email responses, but only 50% received an email reply.
- Median email response time was 2.3 minutes, with 91% of messages conveying information.
Conclusions:
- Smartphone-based email systems enable detailed analysis of physician-nurse communication.
- Findings offer insights into interprofessional communication patterns and can inform the development of better communication technologies.
- Improved information and communication technology can enhance overall clinical communication effectiveness.
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