GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS: A PANACEA FOR IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THOSE WHO MANAGE HEALTH INFORMATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT TEACHING HOSPITAL, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study looked at effective communication as a magic bullet for practitioners of health information management in UPTH, Rivers State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was adopted, along with a descriptive study design. There were 225 participants, and a sample size of 140 was chosen. The tools utilized were checklists and questionnaires. Results indicated that most people agreed that there was no reasonable relationship between patients and providers in all sections of UPTH, according to 40 (66.7%) of the respondents who responded that health information management practitioners frequently used verbal communication skills to interact with patients, and 15 (25%) of the respondents who responded that they did not. Additionally, 340 (84%) YES responses and 65 (16%) NO responses indicate a lack of motivation and management support., lack of educational advancement as a barrier to HIMP has excellent communication skills. The management of UPTH, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health, Healthcare Partner Agencies, Health Records Officers Registration Board of Nigeria should collaborate and ensure the implementation of policies regarding adequate motivation, institutional support, availability of prerequisite infrastructure, and frequent training and retraining of health information management practitioners on communication skills improvement as well as on the use of technological tools/aids in performing their healthcare and related health services to ensure timely, accurate, effective, efficient, quality patient care services, and informed decision-making in the UPTH, and other Nigerian healthcare facilities.