HealthManagement, Volume 23 - Issue 1, 2023
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From care activities to administrative activities in a health unit,
communication is a critical factor for the strategy of organisations.
That is why a strategic vision for communication in hospitals is essential.
Through the three communication al-sectional dimensions for the
implementation of communication management in health units,
we can understand the importance of these processes.
Key Points
- Leaders and health professionals need to reflect on communication flows and how structured they are for delivering value to patients.
- It is critical we understand the three communication paradigms for the implementation of communication management in health units.
- Hospitals that do not manage their communication have less chance of achieving their vision in the short, medium and long term.
A Critical Factor for the Strategy
From care activities to administrative activities in a health
unit, communication is a critical factor for the strategy of
organizations. This is precisely why leaders and health
professionals need to reflect on communication flows and
how structured they are for delivering value to patients,
with care centered on each person served.
That is why a strategic vision for communication in hospitals is essential. This is not only an operational theme,
but also at the tactical and strategic level of health units
and should receive the necessary attention to ensure that
processes are defined, monitored and evaluated for continuous improvement.
To maximise results in this area, we recommend (Cirino
2018, 2019) that the organization’s first focus be on aligning
strategic communication. This paradigm aims to structure
the activities that concern the construction of the identity
of this hospital, from its brand and slogan, for example, but
also to its organisational identity, which defines its mission,
vision, values and purpose.
Another crucial point is the formalising of communication policy, a document that guides the practices related to the institutional position regarding its internal and external
communication flows, as well as the nature and purpose
of each means of communication of the organisation. This
policy needs to be managed through indicators and alignment meetings to increase its possibilities of effectiveness
in the implementation of the procedures it defines.
Pertaining to strategic communication, it becomes important to define the format of communication management
in this health unit: will there be a sector of its own? And/
or a commission? How will we work on the activities of
projecting, progress of activities and subsequent revision
of these themes? These reflections will result in the analysis of those responsible for conducting this activity in the
hospital and what are the main attributions and results that
can be expected by the entire organisation.
The second paradigm, organisational communication,
works in the context of internal communication between the
public sits in the hospital. In order to unfold the identity and
make it real, this stage implements media that contribute
to the dissemination of the organisation’s values for the
construction of the organisational culture. These means
need to be implemented in order to meet the needs and expectations of employees and other stakeholders by information, keeping them updated.
Another crucial point is that organisational communication also deals with a periodic communication planning that
will contain a schedule of disclosures and practices that
must be scheduled at each moment and for each hospital audience. This planning needs to be managed, with continuous evaluation of your results for the optimization of unit
practices.
Another essential aspect in this paradigm is communication for patient safety. The flows of care communication
should be considered at this stage and structured in order
to ensure the mitigation of the risks of failures that can
cause harm to patients and collaborators (Cirino 2021a,b).
Thus, we emphasise here that in addition to being strategic for the hospital’s processes, there is a possibility of
a substantial reduction in care errors when managing the
communication of the health unit.
The third paradigm is institutional communication. Now
that the identity has been developed internally, at this stage
we are concerned with the implementation of flows that
contribute to the dissemination of the health unit to the external public, creating the image of this organization. The
focus here is that we have the greatest possible coherence
between what unity is (identity) and what stakeholders think
it is (image).
In addition, it will also be necessary to structure the
external media, with a highlight for collaboration with the press, since the media is a social health agent (Tuzzo
and Cirino 2019) and contributes directly to the practices
of local and global health systems. Thus, social media,
mobile app’s and the hospital’s website are a structuring
part of communication with society as a whole.
Precisely because of these points presented in the
three communication paradigms for the implementation
of communication management in health units, we can
understand the criticality of these processes.
Hospitals that do not manage their communication have
a higher chance of care errors, lower employee stake in
organisational strategies and less chance of achieving their
vision in the short, medium and long term.
Conflict of Interest
None.
References:
Cirino J A F (2018) Management of hospital communication. Curitiba: Appris.
Cirino J A F (2019) Communication. In: Manual of the hospital manager / Organizers: PRESTES,
A; CIRINO, JAF; OLIVEIRA, R; SOUSA, V. Brasília: Brazilian Hospital Federation
Cirino J A F (2021a) Communication as a tool for the quality and safety of the patient. In:
RUGGIERO, A.M. LOLATO, G. The journey of accreditation: series 20 years. São Paulo: ONA.
Cirino J A F (2021b) Communication as the driving force of the accreditation project. In: Strategies for the accreditation of health services. José Antônio Cirino, Andréa Prestes, Gilvane Lolato
(orgs.). Curitiba: Appris.
Tuzzo S A et Cirino J A F. (2016) Health in the news of the elections of Goiás in
2014: media, social health agent.
Electronic Communication Magazine,
Information and Innovation in Health, [S. l.]. 10 (4) n. 4. Available from https://www.reciis.icict.
fiocruz.br/index.php/reciis/article/view/1132
