The need for better communication

Many organizations still use paper files, to record and transfer patient data between departments, which are at risk of being misplaced. Additionally, information relayed during phone calls can be easily misinterpreted or forgotten. Any miscommunication along the healthcare pathway could potentially compromise a patient’s therapy, and perhaps result in dangerous or even fatal medical errors.

A 2017 report on chemotherapy drug-associated medical errors found that out of the 60 errors analysed, 15 (25%) were related to mistakes in communication³.

A 2014 study by Meisenberg et al.² reported that “The practice of shared responsibility for chemotherapy orders is fraught with opportunities for miscommunication”. The authors analysed approximately 10,000 chemotherapy order sets sent from physicians to pharmacists and found that 30.6% of handwritten orders were “problematic”, requiring significant rework for clarification.

Steps to improve oncology communication

BD Oncology has developed a suite of solutions that transforms the entire oncology pathway for oncologists, pharmacists, technicians, and nurses. By connecting workflows, these solutions can help improve communication, minimize safety failures, unlock hidden capacity to treat more patients and help protect healthcare workers.