The following is a list of recent news and findings on healthcare communication from December 2013, starting with the most recent.
1. A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on communication to disseminate evidence-based practices in healthcare shows the field is lacking research on the comparative effectiveness of communication methods.
2. Physicians and nurses on after-hours phone consultations may experience significant decision-making and communication problems, which pose a patient safety risk, according to an article published in the British Medical Journal for Quality and Safety.
3. Patients seeking more control over medical records will likely change the way physicians communicate clinical information, according to a perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine.
4. Good communication, a factor in boosting patient satisfaction, begins with a simple introduction, according to an editorial published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, which notes only 40 percent of physicians introduce themselves to their patients.
5. Forty states have earned an 'F' and seven states have earned a 'D' for communication and availability of physician quality information in a new report from the nonprofit Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute.
6. Automated email notifications may increase physician awareness of patient test results pending at discharge, improving physician follow-up, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
7. Simulation-based training for end-of-life communication may not have benefits over traditional communication education, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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