Abstract
Medical errors and poor patient care have been impacted by communication failures despite mandates for effective patient-provider communication (The Joint Commission, 2010). There are a high number of communication vulnerable individuals in medical situations due to new medical conditions, preexisting conditions, and language differences, to name a few. The purpose of this article is to highlight strategies to support consistent, effective patient-provider communication in a medical setting. However, to guarantee patient-provider communication is consistent, policies and procedures must be in place to ensure appropriate orders are activated in a timely manner, personnel are assigned to support patient-provider communication, individualized communication needs are recognized and met, and quality measures are in place to ensure that high standards continue over time.