2003 Health Communication Conference

Strategies to Improve Health Care by Removing Communication Barriers

In response to the feedback given by the participants in the inaugural conference, a follow-up conference was held November 17, 2003, to d 2003 conference photo

eal with solutions to some of the problems examined at the first conference. The second national conference, entitled "Strategies to Improve Health Care by Removing Communication Barriers," was co-sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. This conference convened a diverse group of individuals who are personally and professionally involved in improving health care communication - including government officials, leaders of organized medicine and other clinical disciplines, and media representatives - to focus on operational programs in the private and public sectors that are seeking to reduce barriers to effective communication. The conference emphasized programs that improve the quality of care by identifying and removing communication barriers, and efforts that improve interpersonal communication within the care-giving team and with patients.

Conference Executive Summary