Health Communication

Health Communication

Describe the relationship you have/had with the person in the interaction.

Some years back, I worked as a nurse for a community facility in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of my patients were my neighbors in the residential areas. One of the patients, Mercy, was aged 50 years. Mercy and her family lived in the area. When I moved into the Bay Area, Mercy, a real estate agent, assisted me in the search for a house. This process involved numerous phone calls and meetings in public places and in her home. As a result, I got acquainted with her family members. With time, we became good friends. A while later, Mercy developed complications and had to visit the facility. Inevitably, I took care of her during my shift alongside other patients during her admission. After remaining in the hospital for three months, Mercy and her family were overwhelmed. During this time, doctors were still trying to diagnose her condition. Prior to the confirmation of the diagnosis, Mercy was discharged for a week. I was assigned to take care of her while at home. When I learned of the diagnosis, the doctor asked me to take the newly prescribed medication to track Mercy’s health. When Mercy inquired about the diagnosis’ progress, I blurted out the doctor’s instructions in short text messages.

Explain which channel you used initially and why you think it was the wrong means to communicate with them.

Using short messages to inform a patient about their diagnosis was inappropriate due to the shortcomings associated with the channel. A diagnosis is a sensitive piece of health information. As such, it requires to be transmitted in an environment that allows patients to ask questions. Short messages prohibit such lengthy conversations due to various aspects that are used to ensure that client’s health information is protected. Firstly, text message communication requires the patient’s consent. Possessing their telephone number does not necessarily imply consent to send text messages regarding their health. Secondly, the use of text messages prohibited the patient from asking questions regarding the diagnosis. The need to ask questions about a diagnosis and gain clarity is highly inhibited by text messages (Karasz, Eiden, & Bogan, 2013).

Explain which channel would have been better for the situation and why you think it would have been more effective.

In this case, the most appropriate channel would be face-to-face communication. Having Mercy at the facility was critical in ensuring that she was in the right state of mind to receive the information. The channel of communication provides the healthcare provider and patient an opportunity to engage in a full conversation. The patient would be in a position to read the doctor’s body language and vice versa. Body language emphasizes the meaning of the information that is provided in a specific session. Furthermore, face-to-face conversation eliminates misconceptions that would arise in other forms of communication. The patient has a chance to clarify the meanings of the medical terms that doctors use to describe a condition. They also enquire about the effects that a condition has on their health. Most importantly, patients are informed about the treatment plans that are available (Vermeir, Vandijck, & Degroote, 2015). They can voice their opinions and wishes regarding the treatment plans that doctors outline during the session. Thus, I should have invited the patient to the facility instead of informing them of the diagnosis via text messages.

References

Karasz, H. N., Eiden, A., & Bogan, S. (2013). Text Messaging to Communicate With Public Health Audiences: How the HIPAA Security Rule Affects Practice. American Journal of Public Health, 103(4), 617-622.

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., & Degroote, S. (2015). Communication in healthcare: A narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 69(11), 1257-1267.

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For this assignment, think back to a time when you think you used the wrong channel to convey a message to someone in your life. Examples could be sending a text message to break up with someone or emailing a boss when, in both situations, you should have talked to them face to face.

Health Communication

In a 2-page paper, written using appropriate spelling/grammar, address the items below. Remember to be descriptive and use as much detail in your examples as possible.

Describe the relationship you have/had with the person in the interaction.
Explain which channel you used initially and why you think it was the wrong means to communicate with them.
Explain which channel would have been better for the situation and why you think it would have been more effective.