Impacts of Communication Type and Quality on Patient Safety Incidents

BACKGROUND: Poor communication in health care increases the risk for patient safety incidents. However, there is no up-to-date synthesis of these data. PURPOSE: To synthesize studies investigating how poor communication between health care practitioners and patients (and between different groups of practitioners) affects patient safety. DATA SOURCES: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, CENTRAL, Scopus, and the ProQuest Dissertations here, poor communication caused 13.2% (IQR, 6.1% to 24.4%) of safety incidents. Forty-two studies investigated whether poor communication contributed to patient safety incidents alongside other causes; here, poor communication contributed to 24.0% (IQR, 12.0% to 46.8%) of safety incidents. Study heterogeneity was high in terms of setting, continent, health care staff, and safety incident type. The strength of the evidence was low or very low. LIMITATION: There was important study heterogeneity, generally low study quality, and poor reporting of essential data. CONCLUSION: Poor communication is a major cause of patient safety incidents. Research is needed to develop effective interventions and to learn more about how poor communication leads to patient safety incidents. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Stoneygate Trust. (PROSPERO: CRD42024507578).