How To Avoid Potentially Damaging Miscommunication Between Your Physician and Nurse

As news of an Ebola case took hold here in the United States, it became clear that the first patient to be identified as having positive symptoms of the disease could have been treated in a much more timely manner.

First the missed diagnoses was blamed on the electronic health records that were being kept at the Texas hospital, but it soon came to light that the issue was really a miscommunication between the patient’s nurse and physician.

You can read more about the case here.

Miscommunication between your nurse and your physician can lead to detrimental outcomes and may be labeled as medical malpractice.  That is why it is critical that you, as the patient, take every opportunity to make sure that information is being communicated in a timely and accurate manner between the two parties.

Here are a few things you can do to make sure that your physician and nurses are communicating with each other.

1. If your nurse/physician tells you something, make sure to confirm it with the other party the next chance you get.
2. When talking with your nurse/physician take notes (or have someone do it for you) to make sure you remember everything that was discussed.
3. Ask questions, multiple times.  If you are unclear about something, ask for clarification.

These steps will not completely eliminate the risk of miscommunication between your nurse/physician, but they will go a long way to limiting it.  If you believe that a miscommunication between your nurse/physician led to additional injuries that may have otherwise been prevented contacted a knowledgeable and experienced medical malpractice attorney.