Healthcare Communication Methods - Essay Example

"Healthcare Communication Methods" is a remarkable example of a paper on the health system.
The ability to communicate proper information and ideas promptly is increasingly being recognized as a critical pillar to the success of an excellent health care system. Effective communication is vital for not only successful interactions between health care providers and their clients but between health care providers themselves. As research and better practices initiatives persistently grow, there is a need for researchers to invent better and effective communication in health care. Health care communication can be made more accessible by employing various strategies including critical reflections and assumptions. Electronic public education and communication such as messaging, email, social media, and text are on the rise in healthcare provision today (Grindstaff, 2011).        

Several types of communication methods in healthcare organizations stated above have both merits and demerits. The merits result from how fast the news can be addressed while the demerits result from the regulations on the use of some specific communication methods. For example in developing a new drug and testing, the side effects of the drug to a certain population may need the immediate attention of the public. Because if such information is advertised or anchored as news, people tend to obtain different interpretations of the news thus leading to misconception. Thus, a communication coordinator must be vigilant to explain to the public by appearing in the news to clarify issues.        

The traditional methods of communication are written verbal and non-verbal communication. The verbal communication method has a significant advantage over social media in that the person who delivers the message can explain certain facts to the audience. Moreover, the audience can ask questions and get clarifications thus alleviating anxiety and misconceptions. This can be properly applied in the drug manufacturing company in which a manager clarifies the concepts behind a new drug to all the stakeholders in health care. However, the major drawback of verbal communication is the bulkiness of the wordings used during explanation to the extent that the message sender can deviate from the main points (Buck & VanLear, 2002).   

Written communication has got a big impact in business today in that the written materials provide a chance for the manager to prepare the information he wants to communicate by choosing the correct wordings in the paper. The written methods of communication include magazines, journals, and brochures. Written materials also provide detailed information on explaining the science behind a drug including its dosages, side effects, and its effectiveness. The written materials act as proof in any court of law should there be an adverse reaction that was not stated by the industry. However, written materials can have some limitations when not written properly to market a drug to satisfy the stakeholder’s interest in the market. As a coordinator, it is important to proofread what is written about a drug, which should be in simple language and devoid of jargon that most people will understand.     

The health care profession has progressed intensively over the past decade in communication; this is because of the emergence of modern technologies in the computer era. Electronic transfer of messages and phone technology and audiovisual transmission has pushed dispersion of information to higher limits. Social media like television and radio among others has taken a great toll on the dispersion of information in the health care system. The major merit of social media is that it reaches very many people at once, and the information regarding the drug will be spread from one person to another. Moreover, the message inherently is documented for future reference to the consumers. However, the disadvantage of social media is the misconception of the recipients on the drug being advertised or launched to the public (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). This is major because the majority of the consumers in social media take the information there for granted rather than a serious matter thus it leads to distortions of facts in the article. As a communication coordinator, it will be imperative to appear to host shows like live air televisions and radio to explain and answer questions from the concerned public.

In all circumstances whether using traditional, electronic, and social media communication, all must adhere to the HIPPA rules and regulations. The HPPA was instituted to protect all the patient's healthcare information. Therefore, an individual holds the mandate to authorize the use of his healthcare information. As a communication coordinator, it is imperative not to breach the HIPAA laws and no patient information leaked to the public unless guaranteed by the client. For example during drug development, the personal information of the subjects used during clinical trials, the side effect incurred among others must be kept in privacy (Luu, 2005).          

In conclusion, there are several methods of communication available in the health care system. They include traditional, electronic, and social media communication. The traditional methods of communication consist of verbal, written like magazines and newspaper. The electronic methods are emails, text messages, and fax. The social media of communication are television, radio Facebook among others. All of these means of communication methods have their merits and demerits, therefore, as a coordinator, it will be wise to employ more than one in communication. However, during communication, all the rules and regulations stipulated in HIPAA must be adhered to. The HIPAA protects the use of a patient’s health care information without his consent.