ABSTRACT

The author uses palliative care as a paragon of exemplary communication practices to safeguard against medical errors. The proposed solutions pose no financial cost to organizations and units and can easily be integrated into clinicians’ communicative repertoire. Preventable medical errors have become so pervasive that some have suggested that they have reached epidemic proportions. What is equally problematic is that clinicians and researchers continue to trace preventable errors back to routine practices and organizational structures that serve as the scaffolding of modern medicine. Drawing from research gathered from national award-winning palliative care units, this chapter highlights common organizational obstacles and tensions imbued within the medical system. Palliative care is used as a lens to illustrate provider and team challenges associated with contemporary approaches to medicine, as this growing specialty embraces transdisciplinary care teams and patient-centered care. Communication-rooted solutions implemented by palliative care providers are articulated for use across specialties, teams, and units. Shifting attention to intentional and feasible communication processes naturally integrates several layers of checks or safeguards against otherwise preventable medical mistakes.