Reference no: EM132868068

In the digital age, employees have had to learn to manage and navigate digital communication pathways in addition to face-to-face communication. Tone, word choice, and topic in digital communication often varies greatly. Non-verbals or even tone of voice do not translate when using email or text. Use of certain punctuation can also be misconstrued. Often use of capital letters or exclamation points in digital communication can be interpreted as shouting or yelling. With all of this being said, electronic communication has made it easier for information to be obtain in a quick and efficient manner. In a profession that still relies on fax machines (yup, still a thing!), electronic communication has been slow to be implemented in healthcare, but changes over the past 5 years and advances in technology has made it more common place. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis has made the use of electronic communication almost an essential in any healthcare setting. Patient confidentiality is another point that needs to be taken under consideration when using electronic communication. Many healthcare systems have IT solutions in place to adhere to the HIPAA and patient confidentiality standards, but it is something that needs to be considered whenever electronic communication is used in the healthcare setting.

Discussion 1: Have any of you used electronic communication in the healthcare setting as an employee or manager? As a patient or consumer of healthcare, have you been asked to engage in electronic communication with your healthcare providers?