AHRQ awards $1.6M for study on communication technology in care

The University of Michigan received a $1.6 million federal grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to investigate how communication technologies such as EHRs, email, and pagers are being used and where common failures occur, according to Ann Arbor News.

Milisa Manojlovich, PhD, RN, an associate professor in the university's School of Nursing and member of its Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, will lead a team of seven doctors and nurses in the study.

"Communication technology can increase or reduce adverse effects for patients depending on how nurses and physicians are using it," Manojlovich said in a statement. "Unfortunately, communication failures are one of the most common causes of adverse events for hospitalized patients, so it is very important to understand how communication technology is being used and how it can be improved."

The team will use a sequential mixed methods design, which includes surveys, telephone interviews, observations, shadowing and focus groups at hospitals across the country to learn how communication technologies, communication practices and work relationships affect communication.

Based on their results, the team plans to make recommendations for design configurations that will improve the functionality of health IT.

"In general, as electronic communication has increased, the face-to-face communication between practitioners has decreased, and that has created occasions for crucial information to be passed incorrectly or not at all," Manojlovich said.