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Abstract:
In the past decade “communication” has become a buzz word also among the healthcare providers, and hospital pharmacists have a very complex role in the “communication chain” in the hospital building. They have to know how to successfully and skilfully engage with the management regarding multiple issues, including general safety and functioning of the institution, but they also need to know how to communicate with healthcare specialists and patients in terms of drug therapy and treatment, notwithstanding patients’ safety and well-being. Furthermore, hospital pharmacists frequently find themselves at the crossroads of different, often conflicting, approaches to patient`s treatment and proposed therapy, equally so as far as both economic and medical aspects are concerned. For that particular reason it is crucial that they are skilled communicators who are disposed of tools that they can use in engaging with the medical specialists and experts in their domains.
What the most recent analyses show, traditional tools for verbal and written communication no longer suffice due the widespread use of the Internet and digital technologies. These have certainly affected and changed the ways and channels of communication between hospital pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Even more so, patients and their families have also started to consult open sources available on the Internet to search for information on the conditions they have, or suspect they might have, and specific treatments.
It is therefore of utmost importance for hospital pharmacists to be aware of these developments in healthcare communication in order to be informed with a view to be best positioned to help both patients and their families which resources available on-line are reliable. It is at the same time crucial to communicate to patients that these may only be used as an additional and not the main source of information about their treatment. The role of hospital pharmacists has significantly changed since the beginning of this century, and so too have the needs of healthcare communication.
• Review basic rules of communication and the barriers hurdling the process of communication.
• Demonstrate the goals and the tools of effective communication in relations with medical doctors, nurses and patients.
• Internet and communication – which are the main changes introduced by the widespread use of Internet?
• Give examples of reliable and independent sources of drug information available on-line that are of use for both health professionals and patients.
• Demonstrate the role of hospital pharmacist in the fast changing communication environment.
• Identify the difference between communication and information in the complex context of a hospital setting.
• Be able to summarize the most important rules and barriers in communication.
• Be able to select the most effective tools in communication with medical doctors, nurses and patients.
• Recognize the changes induced by the widespread use of Internet.
• Be able to implement reliable and legitimate sources of information on drugs for health professionals and patients.
• Define the role of pharmacist in the fast changing communication environment.
