Assessing provider-patient-parent communication in the pediatric emergency department

Patient-provider communication is related to the satisfaction with and process and outcome of emergency department care. Barriers to communication include noise, anxiety, confusion about process, and differences in language and expectations. In the emergency care setting, as in nonacute ambulatory settings, children tend to be left out of discussions of their own care. Both retrospective and real-time methods are available for studying communication during emergency department visits. Well-standardized generic communication assessment tools are applicable to emergency department communication, but assessment tools specific for emergency settings have yet to be developed and standardized. Although the emergency department poses some methodologic difficulties not present in other settings, studies of communications are feasible and likely to yield useful data.