Communication - a key ingredient for risk management and team building

Communication can be defined as the exchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs. In the general practice environment, communication is an integral tool in the management of patients, staff and day-to-day functioning of the business. Research has shown that employee involvement and participation is crucial to productivity and survival of organisations, and that the most influential factors in worker productivity are not tangible rewards but rather positive attention given by supervisors and their sense of group identity and cohesion as a team. Effective communication is the key tool uniting practice teams and allows for worker input and quality improvement processes to take place.

Communication amongst the practice team is not only crucial for business productivity but also as a risk management tool for practices as it plays a large role in the identification, management and prevention of incidents, accidents and near misses within the practice environment. The RACGP Standards for General Practice suggest managing risks in the general practice environment by communicating with practice staff on a regular basis and if possible, documenting these encounters; encouraging an environment in the practice where all staff and patients feel welcomed and valued; fostering strong relationships with colleagues; systematically managing adverse events or complaints from both patients and staff, and conducting regular practice meetings both clinical and on a whole-of-practice level.

The RACGP position statement General Practitioners and Their Teams says that the ideal practice team should:
• Foster a supportive, transparent and collaborative culture associated with improved patient outcomes and safety.
• Have a defined goal and identifiable organizational mission shared by all team members.
• Use a systematic approach to the development of clinical and administrative systems.
• Have equal division of labour and task delegation amongst all team members.
• Have effective training of staff in both routine tasks and cross training in anticipation of adverse circumstances.
• Have excellent communication including interpersonal communication supported by well-designed communication structures and plans.

Practices can use many tools to identify areas where quality processes could be improved such as staff and patient surveys, focus groups or forums, clinical audits and performance indicators. Any action taken as a result of these initiatives should be documented to allow for review and follow up.