Advanced Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and ...

Chapter One
ADMISSION
The admission process is typically the initial point of contact
a patient has with the hospital. Key patient information is
collected during admission and used for identification,
billing, and care planning purposes. In addition, patients
receive a significant amount of information from the hospital,
including patient rights documents and relevant hospital
policies. As patients and their families interact with staff at
the registration desk and complete admission forms and
paperwork, the admission phase of the care continuum
provides hospitals with the first opportunity to identify and
address the unique needs of their patients.
✔ Checklist to Improve
Effective Communication,
Cultural Competence, and
Patient- and Family-Centered
Care During Admission
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Inform patients of their rights.
Identify the patient’s preferred language
for discussing health care.
Identify whether the patient has a sensory
or communication need.
Determine whether the patient needs
assistance completing admission forms.
Collect patient race and ethnicity data in
the medical record.
Identify if the patient uses any assistive devices.
Ask the patient if there are any additional
needs that may affect his or her care.
Communicate information about unique
patient needs to the care team.
This chapter focuses on the identification of several basic patient
needs that must be addressed throughout the care continuum.
Information regarding communication preferences and needs,
cultural, religious or spiritual background, preferences and
needs, mobility requirements, and other patient needs is
essential for staff to help in the admission process to plan for
appropriate services or accommodations. Any data collected
during admission should be easily accessible at all points of care
and in other relevant departments in the hospital.
Although the majority of patients will enter the hospital
through the scheduled admission process, some patients will
experience emergency admissions. For these patients, hospitals
should adapt the recommendations included in this chapter
to make sure that necessary patient-level data are collected
by the clinical staff and that the hospital disseminates
information to patients and families through alternative
channels.
The next section includes both recommended issues to
address during admission (with check boxes) and practice
examples (with round bullets). While the recommended issues
present broad, overarching concepts that all hospitals should
address, the example practices and methods may not apply to
all hospital types, sizes, or settings.
Recommended Issues and
Related Practice Examples to
Address During Admission
❑ Inform patients of their rights.
Several patient rights address the unique needs of
individuals, such as the right to have a language
interpreter, the right to receive accomodation for a
disability, the right to be free from discrimination when
receiving care, the right to identify a support person to
be present during the hospital stay, and the right to
designate a surrogate decision-maker. There are several
ways to make sure that patients are informed of their
rights in a manner that supports their involvement in
their care, including the following:
• Post relevant hospital policies (in the most
frequently encountered languages) in the waiting
room.
• Include information about relevant hospital policies
in patient Bill of Rights documents.
• Provide patient rights materials in multiple languages
and alternative formats (for example, audio, visual, or
written materials).
• Explain the right to have a language interpreter, the
role of the interpreter in the health care encounter, and
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