Journal article

The effects of physical environments in medical wards on medication communication processes affecting patient safety

Wei Liu, Elizabeth Manias, Marie Gerdtz

HEALTH & PLACE | ELSEVIER SCI LTD | Published : 2014

Abstract

Physical environments of clinical settings play an important role in health communication processes. Effective medication management requires seamless communication among health professionals of different disciplines. This paper explores how physical environments affect communication processes for managing medications and patient safety in acute care hospital settings. Findings highlighted the impact of environmental interruptions on communication processes about medications. In response to frequent interruptions and limited space within working environments, nurses, doctors and pharmacists developed adaptive practices in the local clinical context. Communication difficulties were associated..

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This study was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant [grant number DP0879002], The authors would like to thank the staff members and patients who generously gave up their time to participate in this study. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments to strengthen this paper.