Communication skill

• Communication skills for pharmacists include promoting two-way communication with patients and health care professionals, understanding patient situations that affect patient-pharmacist communication, understanding the process of handling different types of patients/clients, and understanding the importance of communication with healthcare professionals.
• Communication between and among persons is a primary function of life, and for a pharmacist and other care givers, communication with patients, family members, other practitioners and coworkers is a necessity.
• The sender in communication transmits a message to another person, formulates or encodes the message before transmitting it.
• The message in communication is the element that is transmitted from one person to another, and can be thoughts, ideas, emotion, information, or other factors that can be transmitted verbally or non-verbally.
• The receiver in communication receives and decodes the message and assigns a particular meaning to it.
• Feedback in communication is the process of initial receiver’s communicating back to the original sender his/her understanding of the sender’s message, which can be verbal, non-verbal, or both.
• Perception is one of the most important elements in the communication process, and perceptual barriers should be recognized and minimized.
• Effective two-way communication requires continual observation and assessment of how the other person is communicating, and body language and gestures provide important clues for the pharmacist, as well as the patient and health care provider.
• Verbal communication is most prevalent style used, and essential verbal communication skills include the ability to listen, understand, and respond to what people say (active listening), the ability to interpret nonverbal communication and respond in a way that encourages continued interaction (evaluation), and using lay languages for most patients.
• Nonverbal communication is also important in pharmacy, and may be even more effective than verbal communication.
• Communication with healthcare professionals is a crucial aspect of pharmacy, and forms an integral part of patient care.
• Environmental barriers are environmental factors that may inhibit one-to-one communication of pharmacist to patient.
• Common barriers encountered in pharmacy include lack of privacy, lack of time, and physical barriers.
• Barriers in communication refer to interferences that affect the accuracy of the communication exchange.
• Patient barriers are patient characteristics or perceptions, such as a perception that the pharmacist is not knowledgeable or a belief that the health care system is impersonal.
• Administrative & financial barriers are policies that discourage pharmacist-patient relationship, such as pharmacists not being paid directly for educating the patient or having limited staff.
• Time barriers refer to the timing of the interaction, as inappropriate time may lead to communication failure.
• Be sensitive to clues that suggest potential embarrassment.
• Personal barriers are personal characteristics or perceptions that can lead to distraction in communication.
• Communicate with the patient in a respectful, professional manner.
• Verbal communication is the most prevalent style used, and essential verbal communication skills include the ability to listen, understand, and respond to what people say (active listening), the ability to interpret nonverbal communication and respond in a way that encourages continued interaction (evaluation), and using lay languages for most patients.
• Failure to communicate effectively can jeopardize patient care.
• Level 2 of CPP involves system-wide authority to supply medicine, where pharmacists have the national or local authority to supply medicines to patients that cannot be obtained from other retail premises.
• Level 1 of CPP involves minimal contact, where pharmacists work in isolation from other healthcare professionals with separate responsibilities and there is little requirement for contact between the two professions.
• Level 5 of CPP involves CPP authority, where the pharmacist is given authority to initiate or modify medicine therapy rather than to advise on the initiation or modification of medicine therapy.
• Level 3 of CPP involves reactive advice to other healthcare professionals, where pharmacists will assess a prescription before it is dispensed and refuse to dispense it if it is clinically inappropriate.
• Pharmacists and nurses must treat one another with respect and realize that they share the same goal (optimal patient care) and are on the same patient care team.
• A pharmacist must be prepared with specific questions or facts and recommendations when initiating a patient care-related conversation with physicians.
• A pharmacist must stay within their area of expertise when communicating with physicians.
• To communicate effectively with physicians, a pharmacist must choose the right time and place for the conversation, never interrupt a physician-patient interaction, and not go to an attending physician when the question or recommendation is more appropriate for a less senior member of the medical team.
• In the US, a 2018 analysis of over 900 medication incidents associated with patient harm in community pharmacy found three key themes associated with these types of incidents: Communication Gaps, including issues such as Interprofessional Collaboration.
• Collaborative Pharmacy Practice (CPP) is an advanced clinical practice where pharmacists collaborate with other healthcare professionals in order to care for patients, carers and public.
• To communicate effectively with physicians, a pharmacist must be comfortable with their role on the health care team and confident in their unique knowledge and contributions to patient care.
• Communication Gaps are a key theme in medication incidents, highlighting the importance of collaboration and why it is critical for pharmacists to work constructively and communicate effectively with everyone around them.
• The best way to avoid miscommunication and confusion is to speak in plain English and use concrete and specific references.
• Medical jargon allows all medical professionals to understand each other and communicate effectively.
• Elderly patients may have impaired hearing and vision, be sensitive to harsh, glaring lights and highly reflective surfaces, and may not be able to read prescription labels and other printed material or distinguish among similarly shaped dosage formulations.
• Pharmacists are responsible for recognizing the special situation and having the skills and flexibility necessary to ensure appropriate and effective communication.
• Chronically ill patients may be sophisticated and/or demanding health care consumers, and some chronically ill patients know more about the management of their disease than many health care professionals.
• Patients who may not understand or accept dominant culture in the country about time, personal space, eye contact, cause of illness, the role of medications, spiritual roles, lines of authority and decision making, the role of nutrition, and the pathogenesis of disease are referred to as culturally diverse patients.