Interdisciplinary Collaboration

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RESPONSE:

1. Discuss the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in meeting the health care needs of families.

Interdisciplinary collaboration (or team-based care) is not new. Family physicians frequently participate in collaborative care as they undertake their education and training in the hospital or community. And the valued professional relationships that have existed for years between family physicians and family practice nurses are examples of collaborative care in practice. This is important in dealing effectively with complex family issues. However, research suggests that interdisciplinary collaboration is not for every family physician.(http://toolkit.cfpc.ca/en/interdisciplinary-collaboration/transition-interdisciplinary-collaboration.php)

To meet the need of families, there are some core competencies for interdisciplinary collaboration, which can also be used in the last question as a way to overcome the potential barriers (by developing these core competencies).:

1. Be competent in a clinical practice discipline.
2. Understand and respect how other disciplines approach clinical and social problems.
3. Understand the context and complexity of population health and interdisciplinary strategies for cost savings and cost-effectiveness.
4. Demonstrate basic group process skills including communications, negotiation, time management, and assessment of group dynamics.
5. Understand the broader determinants of health including housing, social, and economic issues influencing the health problems of a population or group.
6. Understand community links essential to providing integrated services to a population group, and participate with community partners in creating and maintaining viable solutions to health issues influencing the target population. (http://www.nwpublichealth.org/docs/wph2000/collaboration.pdf).

2. How is that collaboration different from that which occurs in the acute care or ambulatory setting?

Based on the needs assessment of the two populations, collaboration involves different collaborative teams. For example, acute care is treatment of a severe medical condition that is of short duration and at a crisis level. It is medical care administered, frequently in an inpatient hospital setting or by nursing professionals, for the treatment of a serious injury or illness or during recovery from surgery. Medical conditions requiring acute care are typically periodic or temporary in nature, rather than chronic (www.healthinsurancesort.com/health-insurance-terms.htm) ...