At least 10% of patient safety events stem from poor communication among healthcare workers, patients and caregivers, according to a meta-analysis published April 14 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the University of Leicester reviewed 46 studies examining whether communication failures contributed to safety events — including adverse events, near misses, medical errors and medication errors. The studies involved data from 67,639 patients across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America.
Of the 46 studies, 42 explored poor communication alongside other contributing factors. In those, poor communication contributed to 24% of safety incidents. The remaining four studies focused solely on communication errors, determining they directly caused 13.2% of incidents.
One case study cited by the American College of Physicians detailed how a physician “accidentally shut off a patient’s amiodarone drip while trying to silence a beeping pump.” The nurse was not informed, resulting in the patient developing a dangerously high heart rate.
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