Interdisciplinary cooperation has been on the rise in the last few years in healthcare system and its impact has been substantial. The increased focus on preventative healthcare services and demand for holistic patient-centered care has led to the integration of human services in healthcare to ensure the delivery of top-notch care services. This paper outlines the advantages of interdisciplinary collaboration in the healthcare system.
Database and search terms
The search for reliable sources utilized the school’s online library as the database. The search technique ensured the identification and evaluation of sources published within the last five years relevant to the topic of interest. The search terms used included interdisciplinary collaboration, effects of interdisciplinary cooperation in healthcare, the essence of interprofessional collaboration, interprofessional practice in a healthcare setting, and benefits of interdisciplinary approach in healthcare. The search yielded ninety-six articles from which five sources that met the required criteria were selected.
Manias, E. (2018). Effects of interdisciplinary collaboration in hospitals on medication errors: an integrative review. Expert opinion on drug safety, 17(3), 259-275. Web.
Manias (2018) points out that interdisciplinary collaboration has contributed significantly to the achievement of medication safety in the healthcare system. Interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that healthcare providers from various disciplines have similar objectives, coordinate care delivery, collaboratively make clinical decisions, and work as a team to improve patient outcomes. She states that ineffective communication is one of the major causes of medication mistakes in healthcare settings. As a result, the author conducts research to obtain evidence to support her point of view that enhanced communication between healthcare givers, especially in the transition of care, is key to the reduction of medication errors.
The author develops five key areas of concern through which interdisciplinary collaboration can lead to effective communication in the clinical practice and subsequently minimize medication mistakes. The author highlights some of the critical aspects that are central to reducing medication errors involving the use of technologies for communication, joint review of patients’ medications during admission and discharge, engagement of pharmacists in the disciplinary teams, and joint workshops and conferences among healthcare interprofessional. For instance, the collaborative review of patients’ medications at admission and discharge involved cooperation between pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and community pharmacists. The joint medication review substantially reduced medication mistakes and consequently enhanced patient outcomes.
Labrague, L. J., Al Sabei, S., Al Rawajfah, O., AbuAlRub, R., & Burney, I. (2022). Interprofessional collaboration as a mediator in the relationship between nurse work environment, patient safety outcomes and job satisfaction among nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(1), 268-2to8. Web.
Labrague et al. (2022) maintain that healthy nurses’ working conditions enhance interprofessional cooperation and, in turn, improve patient health outcomes. This study determines the impact of a conducive work environment for nurses on interdisciplinary collaboration in the clinical setting. The findings indicate that nurses’ work atmosphere promotes interprofessional cooperation and nurses’ job satisfaction. Consequently, this leads to the provision of high-quality healthcare services which in turn enhances patient health outcomes. The study highlights that interprofessional cooperation is prominent in the achievement of high-quality care services. The demand to continue this collaboration has increased dramatically, and nurses being the majority in the healthcare system, their participation and cooperation with other healthcare teams, in addition to better working environments, guarantee the delivery of quality patient-centered care, which improves health outcomes.
Wei, H., Corbett, R. W., Ray, J., & Wei, T. L. (2020). A culture of caring: the essence of interprofessional healthcare collaboration. Journal of interprofessional care, 34(3), 324-331. Web.
Wei et al. (2020) outline that interdisciplinary collaboration leads to a concentrated effort among healthcare professionals from diverse disciplines toward one goal. The cooperation ensures harmony in the healthcare system, which is critical in the provision of safe, effective, and top-notch healthcare services. This is because the integrated approach indicates that the results of fruitful collaboration between two or more healthcare professionals are greater than the sum of their individual effects. Collaborative clinical practice has emerged as a critical component of enhancing the healthcare system and care delivery. This study emphasizes that integrated practice fosters the culture of caring in various ways, including developing caring relationships and delivery of constructive feedback.
For example, promoting interdisciplinary cooperation in the healthcare system necessitates the development of caring relationships. Caring interpersonal interactions were defined as the bonds formed between team members as a result of acts of compassion, kindness, and professionalism. Individual growth is nourished by genuine caring associations at work. It establishes the groundwork for team members to build trust and respect, both of which are necessary for collaboration. Thus, fostering team collaboration requires the development of caring relationships. On the other hand, the study states that constructive responses are critical in ensuring the growth of team members. This aspect involves effective communication among the healthcare teams by supporting and encouraging one another to develop professionally. It entails the establishment of trust among the team, which promotes the provision of quality care services.
DiazGranados, D., Dow, A. W., Appelbaum, N., Mazmanian, P. E., & Retchin, S. M. (2018). Interprofessional practice in different patient care settings: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(2), 151-159. Web.
Diaz Granados et al. (2018) claim that interprofessional collaboration is a practice that increases quality, lower costs, and improves the patient experience. The study explains that it is easier to build a more holistic vision of patient care when team members from many disciplines collaborate. Consider each medical practitioner as a component of the problem; putting all of these components together allows for a more thorough grasp of the patient’s requirements, improving the quality of care. Moreover, the goal of healthcare is to enhance patient outcomes; interdisciplinary cooperation brings medical and healthcare professionals together towards the same goal. The aim is always to deliver the best possible care to patients. Interprofessional teamwork makes this easier to accomplish since patients have a team on their side from the beginning, working together to provide long-term care. Since interprofessional education is the foundation for interprofessional cooperation, medical and healthcare students often learn to communicate effectively across specialties at school. As they grow professionally, they become better prepared to do so in the workplace.
De La Rosa, M., Pitts, S., & Chen, P. H. (2020). An interprofessional collaboration of care to improve clinical outcomes for patients with diabetes. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(2), 269-271. Web.
This study indicates that regular contact between the provider and the patient, patient education, coordination of care among healthcare professionals, and a collaborative approach are central to the improvement of patient health outcomes. The teamwork care approach benefits providers in terms of efficiently managing and treating patients, preventing complications, enhancing patients’ quality of life, and boosting patient satisfaction. For instance, the integration of healthcare effectively improves the health of diabetic patients. This is where a team of healthcare professionals treating patients with diabetes substantially improves blood pressure and HgA1C. The interprofessional team often delivers educational counseling sessions on lifestyle changes and diet and lifestyle, leading to adherence to medications and, subsequently better diabetes treatment outcomes. Additionally, the study shows a reduction in the cost of care since it is based in an outpatient care setting involving case managers and cuts unnecessary clinical diagnoses and treatments, minimizing the overall cost of treatment.