Accreditation practice pointer: engaging patients with communication impairments

C1.4 B Our practice endeavours to employ communication strategies to engage with patients who have difficulty accessing the service due to a communication impairment.

RACGP Standards for general practice

General practice must be able to support patients who need assistance with communication due to hearing, speech or vision impairment, disability, or cognitive impairment. Thus, practices need to have a communication strategy in place for this patient cohort. Such a strategy might include the practice team being aware of the following:

• Asking the patient about the best way to communicate if you are unsure

• Speaking directly to the patient, even if they are accompanied by someone without disability

• Confirming that you have understood the reason for their visit, their symptoms and other issues, and confirm that the patient has understood the information you have given them

• The practice needs to know how to access the National Relay Service (NRS) for patients who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment.

• Further information about how the practice can communicate with patients who have communication impairments is available at Novita Children’s Services.

Practices must also provide evidence that appropriate communication services are used to communicate with patients who have a communication impairment. Clinicians must enter in the patient’s health record details of any communication services used.

Practices might also support patients with a communication impairment through these actions:

• Educating the practice team members so they know how to contact and use services such as Auslan interpreting services for patients who are hearing impaired

• Developing a policy for how communication impairment is managed for a telehealth consultation.