Nonye Tochi Aghanya

Abstract Title:Communication In Healthcare-Why Digital Innovation Is Not Enough

Biography: Nonye Tochi Aghanya MSc, RN, FNP-C is an author, Keynote speaker, family nurse consultant, and trainer. She obtained a Master of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Pace University, New York, and has worked in various healthcare settings. As a healthcare provider for close to 30 years, she’s had to contact patients of various backgrounds and nationalities. She’s extensively studied patient’s behaviors and analyzed the effect of various communication styles on behaviors due to underlying fears and anxieties that patients display in the healthcare settings. She co- owned a private practice in New Jersey for 7 years and currently works in the retail clinic for over 13 years. Rising incidences of fears and anxieties in healthcare settings spurred her into action to develop resources for improving communication patterns in healthcare that will help alleviate fears and anxieties and improve trust between the healthcare providers and patients. This action ultimately leads to more efficient care practices with a reduction in healthcare providers and clinicians’ burnout rates. She is the author of 2 books “Simple Tips to Developing A Productive Clinician-Patient Relationship” and “Principles for Overcoming Communication Anxiety and Improving Trust”. In May 2019, she published an online school Communication Academy and courses in her school have received accreditation for granting Continuing education units to Physicians and Nurses. Her contents are based on reviews of existing research studies and on her numerous interactions with diverse groups of individuals in the healthcare settings for close to 30 years. A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Trustees, she is married, has 4 daughters, and resides with her family in Virginia. She has written articles for various journals and health publications over the years and remains quite active on social media. Her books are also available on Amazon.

Research Interest: In the twilight of the twenty-first century, as singularity draws near, we have witnessed the rise of digitization and digitalization in the healthcare sector. However, the recent global pandemic and ensuing social distancing, coupled with fear of the virus resulted in an increased utilization of the virtual healthcare system. A type of digital innovation, it has shown to be a much-needed manner of care delivery in the pandemic era and from 11% in 2019 to 76% in 2020, the use of virtual healthcare technology has increasingly surged and continues to surge with each ensuing year till date. The expanded use of audio, video, and other electronic communications to allow patients to connect with their doctors has offered much-needed relief from the stress of pandemic care demands on healthcare practitioners with a wider reach for digital health innovations including the use of wearable devices, mobile health apps, health information systems etc. However, while these technological advancements are impressive, they are insufficient to address the unique exploratory holistic approach to care delivery that is required to build and maintain fruitful clinician-patient relationships. Interactions via the use of digital devices lack the transdisciplinary approach which explore the application of such disciplines as psychology and the observation of patient behavioral traits, cognitive biases, and the philosophy of language and its attempt to assist the patient to achieve healthy mental and physical balance. Patient’s distinct personalities affect their outlook and mental status. Tailoring an individual care approach is a necessity for optimal care delivery and complete reliance on digital devices may limit the practitioner’s chance of achieving the full scope of engagement for optimal care delivery. Focusing on patients’ and clinicians’ relationships, this presentation seeks to avail a systemic use of effective communication to complement digital inventions and innovations in the healthcare system for healing. Presenting material is derived from the presenter’s clinical practice experiences in diverse healthcare settings for over 30 years. This also includes her review of studies on human psychological traits, the analysis of influence of such traits on patient behaviors and applying effective communication styles to improve clinician-patient interactions and trust development in healthcare settings. Keywords: Patient personality traits, Communication, Digital innovation, Virtual healthcare, Trust development