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Developing a Culture of Successful Communication in Acute Care Settings: Part II. Solving Institutional Issues
Sarah Marshall1, Richard R Hurtig2
1Communication Aids and Systems Clinic, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Purpose:
Establishing services for hospitalized patients with complex communication needs (CCNs) requires identifying and addressing both patient-based and institutional barriers. Although the previous paper (Marshall & Hurtig, 2019) focused on patient-based barriers, this paper addresses overcoming institutional barriers.
Method:
We present a series of cases to illustrate the institutional challenges in meeting the CCNs of patients in an acute care setting.
Results:
Each case illustrates how the deployment of augmentative and alternative communication tools required addressing institutional/systems barriers and how critical collaborations help patients with CCNs to more effectively communicate with caregivers and participate in their care.
Conclusion:
Building a culture of improved patient-provider communication involves establishing a wider range of interprofessional collaborations and shared resources in order to effectively provide patients with CCNs the tools to summon assistance and communicate with their caregivers.
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