Including communication as a system in work rounds
When patients are sick enough to require hospitalization, medical decisions often involve nontrivial tradeoffs between risks and benefits. They require discussions with patients and families from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. And sometimes these discussions break down.
Patient-clinician communication is increasingly recognized as an integral part of clinician competency. Indeed, family-centered rounding, increasingly practiced at Children’s Hospital Boston, is a critical step in this direction. Fully adopting this practice surely …
