Incorporating emotional safety into email interactions helps patients feel respected, heard, and valued.
“Patient safety practitioners, clinical leaders and health system executives must also acknowledge power relations, differentials, and dynamics in the implementation, spread, and scale of conceptual models of naming, measuring, monitoring, and mitigating adverse events through understanding that feeling safe is a core component of being safe. So much is needed to truly transform healthcare into locations of actual well-being and healing, free of harm and hurt. Harm is harm. Emotional safety is patient safety.”
A 2023 editorial article published by the British Medical Journal provided a degree of insight into exactly why patient safety is so necessary for healthcare providers. When considering what feeling safe means the distinction between 'feeling safe' and 'being safe' needs to be understood. Emotional safety (feeling safe) involves being heard, respected, and valued.
Unfortunately, healthcare systems often prioritize physical safety and clinical outcomes over emotional safety, overlooking the impacts of emotional harm such as fear, mistrust, and trauma. The emotional harm patients experience can stem from experiences of disrespect, discrimination, and disregard within the healthcare system.
There is also the matter of how a healthcare environment that does not support emotional safety can impact the staff. According to a Frontiers of Psychology study: “By feeling safe in the work environment and not exposed to inter-personal risks, workers can feel less stress and reduce the emotional and cognitive consequences it brings. In particular, psychological safety can be an important mechanism to reduce stress by creating a climate of trust and risk-free communication.” Without emotional safety, for both patients and staff, these feelings are only exasperated by a continuous approach to neglecting the more integral aspects of overall safety. “
This creates an environment across all forms of communication—be it in-person conversations, emails, or text messaging. When taking this approach healthcare organizations open up the way towards improved treatment outcomes stemming from patient's encouragement to openly share their concerns, symptoms, and fears. Such a level of openness is vital for achieving accurate diagnoses, formulating effective treatment plans, and providing care that is truly personalized. The characteristics of communication supporting these outcomes include:
It can be tailored to be emotionally sensitive and HIPAA compliant by using general language that acknowledges receipt and provides comfort without discussing specific health information.
Beyond the measures discussed above, organizations should always prioritize an attitude of continuous learning amongst patients to provide updated emotional intelligence and compassionate communication training.
Family members can be included in email communications by obtaining explicit consent from the patient.