Responding effectively to disruptive patient behaviors: Beyond behavior contracts (22 February 2024)

Summary

The epidemic of workplace violence has prompted the use of harsh responses that include “behaviour contracts” (sometimes called “behavioural agreements”) by US healthcare organisations. The authors of this JAMA article look at how this approach can undermine a hospital’s commitment to providing evidence-based, patient-centred care and highlight other approaches to dealing with patient aggression and violence in healthcare settings.