
Remember playing telephone as a kid? You’d sit around with your friends, and someone would start whispering a phrase or sentence, but by the time it reached the last person, it wasn’t even close to what it started as. Everyone would laugh and try to figure out where the breakdown happened and who heard what. While that was all fun and games back then, this kind of miscommunication happens every day in hospitals - and it’s anything but funny.
Firsthand Experience
One evening, we were called in for an emergency. We were told the patient was critical but stable, with no significant medical history except the current cardiac issue requiring immediate attention. My teammates and I rushed in and got the room set up quickly. All we needed was the patient.
I headed to the ICU to check if the patient had arrived and saw the surgeon at the nurse’s station, talking to a young woman who turned out to be the patient’s daughter. (Yes, she made it to the hospital before her mom did!) The surgeon looked concerned as he sifted through a stack of papers the daughter had given him and processed what she was saying. When he saw me, he asked if the room was ready. I said yes, and he excused himself, asking me to follow him to the office.
The rest of the team joined us, and the surgeon closed the door. He told us the patient he’d gotten a report on was not the person the daughter was describing. The report had said this was a critical but stable patient with no significant medical history. What we were dealing with was the exact opposite: a disoriented 68-year-old woman on 15 liters of oxygen, with a history of stage 3 colon cancer that had metastasized to the lungs. She hardly weighed 80 pounds and had been diagnosed and operated on earlier that week.
Was this even the same patient?
Needless to say, the surgeon wasn’t happy. He’d accessed her medical records while waiting and found additional, critical information that should have been shared. Seeing the patient and reviewing her records completely changed the plan: no surgery. She wasn’t a candidate in her current state. Fortunately, her daughter, who was also a medical professional, agreed with the surgeon’s assessment.
We canceled the case, tore down the room, and removed all the supplies and instruments. I updated the chart and pick list to ensure the patient wouldn’t be charged for anything related to the OR. As we left, the surgeon apologized for calling us in for nothing.
When I’m on call, I don’t get upset about being called in - it’s my job. Could I have been annoyed in this case? Sure, we came in for nothing. But based on the communication received, coming in was the right call.
Miscommunications like this happen every day in hospitals worldwide
I’m sure all of you have a story about how a miscommunication affected patient care or a surgical case. Think back to that incident. How did it make you feel? How do you think it made the patient or their family feel?
Communication is crucial in healthcare. It impacts not just patient care but also costs, operational efficiency, and, most importantly, trust. Trust among team members and trust between patients, their families, and providers.
When asked what they value in their providers, patients consistently list communication at the top. They want someone who will not only listen to their concerns but also clearly explain options so they can make informed decisions. So, remember to close the loop and confirm information. Don’t be the last person in a game of telephone with the whole phrase wrong.
Lindsey

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