Getting on the Same Page: Opportunities to Improve Parent-Provider Communication.

According to the Joint Commission, the leading root causes of hospital sentinel events are communicationrelated. Communication contributes not only to patient and physician understanding of medical problems and the risks and benefits of treatment but also impacts outcomes, such as satisfaction and adherence. Consequently, it is not surprising that miscommunications are associated with care quality and patient safety problems. Although there is a large body of literature examining communication between patients and providers, fewer researchers have considered communication among parents and providers. In this issue of Hospital Pediatrics, Khan et al have put forth one of the first pediatric studies to evaluate parent-provider miscommunications and their association with parent-reported medical errors in the hospital setting.