7 Strategies for Effective Clinical Communication

By Stephanie Stoll, BSN, RN, MHA. Updated October 30, 2026.

Clinical communication is how clinicians, care teams, and patients exchange the information needed to act on a patient's care. It works when a message reaches the right person, that person understands and acknowledges it, and the task it carries gets done.

The seven strategies below are practices hospital and community teams use between clinicians and with patients. Each one includes steps you can start this week. For a broader overview, read our guide to clinical communication and collaboration.

The Joint Commission reviewed 1,575 sentinel events in 2024. Across the leading event types, its analysis lists a shared understanding among the care team and clear communication of critical information among staff as areas for improvement. Reporting is voluntary, so the figures describe the events reviewed rather than how often they occur.

The seven strategies at a glance:

1. Active listening
2. Open and honest communication
3. Effective handoffs and transitions of care
4. Interprofessional collaboration
5. Use of communication tools and technology
6. Conflict resolution skills
7. Continuous education and training

1. Active Listening

Active listening means giving the speaker your full attention and confirming you understood before you act. It applies to patients and to colleagues.

With patients, it surfaces concerns, preferences, and goals that shape the care plan. With teammates, it reduces the chance of a misheard order or a misread request.

Four habits make up most of it: give your full attention, let the person finish without interrupting, restate what you heard in your own words, and ask a clarifying question when something is unclear. The restating step is the same move as a check-back in TeamSTEPPS, where the receiver repeats an order or message back to the sender.

2. Open and Honest Communication

Patients trust clinicians who explain their condition, their options, and the risks in plain language. That trust makes it easier for them to ask questions and take part in decisions.

Honesty matters most when something goes wrong. The AHRQ CANDOR toolkit describes a process for responding when a patient is unexpectedly harmed. It calls for an initial disclosure conversation within 60 minutes of the event being identified, followed by ongoing communication as the investigation develops.

In everyday care, the same principle applies to smaller moments: say what you know, say what you don't know yet, and say when you will update them.

3. Effective Handoffs and Transitions of Care

A handoff transfers responsibility for a patient from one clinician or team to another, at shift change, at discharge, or at transfer between facilities. A standard format makes sure the same information is shared every time.

SBAR is a short format for urgent communication: Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation. I-PASS suits longer handoffs and covers illness severity, patient summary, action list, situation awareness and contingency planning, and synthesis by the receiver. TeamSTEPPS also teaches a handoff tool called I-PASS the BATON.

In the 2024 Joint Commission review, staff-to-staff communication during handoffs or transitions of care appeared among the contributing factors for falls (6%) and delays in treatment (3%). The Joint Commission also publishes Sentinel Event Alert 58 on inadequate handoff communication.

Whatever format you choose, build in a step where the receiver restates the plan and asks questions.

4. Interprofessional Collaboration

Interprofessional collaboration brings physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and social workers together around one patient's needs. It depends on knowing who owns each task and how to reach them.

Three practices help. Hold a brief at the start of a shift or procedure to assign roles, use a short huddle when the situation changes, and debrief afterward on what to repeat or change. TeamSTEPPS teaches all three as leadership tools.

Role clarity deserves attention on its own. In the 2024 Joint Commission review, vague or unclear roles and responsibilities among staff were among the contributing factors in delay in treatment events (4%). Agree on one channel for each type of message, and write down who covers which role on each shift.

5. Use of Communication Tools and Technology

Clinicians use whatever is fastest. A survey of 836 staff at seven hospitals in one Australian health system found that more than half of medical staff and about a third of nursing and allied health staff used an unapproved messaging platform for patient information more than three times a day (Lynch et al., 2022). The survey covered one organization and had just under a 20% response rate, so it shows a pattern rather than a national rate.

A study of 1,110 clinicians' comments at Northwestern Medicine found that many felt their existing tools already met their needs, and secondhand reports of barriers kept new users from downloading the secure messaging app (Byrd et al., 2023). Adoption depends on fit.

"Clinical staff may be more inclined to use communications tools that are embedded in an existing EHR system," said Dr. Rishi Sarna, MD, Chief Clinical Officer at Backline by DrFirst.

When evaluating a tool, ask whether it is as quick as a text message, whether it routes by role instead of by person, whether it connects to the EHR, and whether a new user can start without training. Critical results deserve their own check. Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal NPSG.02.03.01 asks organizations to report critical results on a timely basis and to evaluate that timeliness.

"The physician or clinician can communicate to anyone who needs to know, regardless of the borders," said Linda Fischer, Executive Advisor at Backline by DrFirst.

To see how secure messaging and role-based routing work in practice, explore Backline's clinical communication and collaboration solution.

6. Conflict Resolution Skills

Conflict resolution is a set of structured ways to raise a concern and reach agreement without damaging the working relationship. AHRQ's TeamSTEPPS program teaches three tools.

The two-challenge rule applies when someone's concern about patient safety is ignored. State the concern, and if the response doesn't resolve it, state it a second time. If it's still unresolved, take a stronger course of action, such as going to a supervisor or the chain of command.

CUS gives a quick way to signal urgency: "I am concerned. I am uncomfortable. This is a safety issue." Use it sparingly and keep it for urgent situations.

The DESC script helps with disagreements about behavior. Describe the specific situation, express your concern, suggest an alternative, and state the consequences. TeamSTEPPS guidance suggests writing your thoughts down first and having the conversation after a brief cooling-off period.

7. Continuous Education and Training

Communication skills improve with practice, and the practice works best when it uses your own team's situations. Run SBAR on the last few escalation calls, role-play a DESC conversation, and review a recent handoff that went well and one that didn't.

TeamSTEPPS offers a ready-made curriculum covering communication, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support. Refresh it on a schedule rather than once at onboarding.

Measure whether the habits hold. Useful measures include time to acknowledgment, time to first response on critical results, and the share of messages that reach a confirmed outcome. Review them by unit and shift, since averages can hide the shifts where a process breaks down.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is clinical communication?

Clinical communication is the exchange of patient information among clinicians, care teams, and patients that leads to action on a patient's care. It includes messages, calls, handoffs, consults, and alerts.

What is active listening in healthcare?

Active listening means giving full attention, letting the speaker finish, restating what you heard, and asking clarifying questions. In teams, the restating step works as a check-back.

What is the difference between SBAR and I-PASS?

SBAR is a short format for urgent communication, such as calling a physician about a change in condition. I-PASS is a longer format built for shift and unit handoffs.

What is the two-challenge rule?

It is a TeamSTEPPS tool for safety concerns that are ignored. The team member states the concern, repeats it if it isn't addressed, and escalates if it still isn't resolved.

Why do clinicians use unapproved messaging apps?

In one 2022 survey, clinicians used them for speed and ease, and many described frustration with older tools. An approved tool has to be as quick as a text and easy to find.

Sources: The Joint Commission, Sentinel Event Data 2024 Annual Review (2025). The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals, NPSG.02.03.01. AHRQ, TeamSTEPPS Mutual Support module and Implement Teamwork and Communication slides. AHRQ, CANDOR Toolkit Implementation Guide. Lynch D, et al. Appl Clin Inform 2022;13(4):916-927, doi:10.1055/s-0042-1757158. Byrd TF, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2023;38(5):1224-1231, doi:10.1007/s11606-022-07912-8.