Discussion – Interprofessional Collaboration

Discussion – Interprofessional Collaboration

In health, different healthcare professionals work together to provide care to the patients. Interprofessional collaboration occurs when healthcare professionals work together to provide care for patients and families and deliver healthcare services in the community. Healthcare workers in the clinical areas, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and physiotherapists, among others, come together to provide their services to the same patients (Reeves et al., 2017). The professionals use their skills and knowledge to improve the quality of care, leading to improved patient outcomes. Interprofessional collaboration reduces medical errors, ensures high-quality care to patients, and increases patient safety.
Interprofessional collaboration reduces medical errors in healthcare. During the management of patients, a healthcare professional may omit certain important information or commit certain errors, such as wrong diagnosis or wrong prescription (Reeves et al., 2017). These errors cannot be noticed and corrected when only one professional cares for the patient. However, when multiple professionals care for the patient, the medical errors are identified early and corrected by the other professional, leading to reduced errors (Wei et al., 2020). Team members in interdisciplinary collaboration oversee the actions and intervention of other professionals in the team hence reducing medical errors. One mistake made by one professional is easily spotted and corrected by another when there is interprofessional collaboration. The professional also improves each other’s knowledge and skill through education, which improves the quality of care and improves patient safety (Wei et al., 2020). Reduction of errors leads to improved patient safety and improved patient outcomes. Thus, interprofessional collaboration improves the quality of care given to patients.
One of the current trends that will require more or change, like interprofessional collaboration, is the increased use of telehealth technology. The use of Telehealth technology increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, where communication technologies and digital information such as smartphones and computers were used to access healthcare services (Johnson & Mahan, 2020). Healthcare professionals in interdisciplinary collaboration have to learn to interact and share information using computers and smartphones (Johnson & Mahan, 2020). They also have to change ways of reaching clients in remote areas using telehealth. Therefore, increased use of telehealth will prevent the physical interaction of medical professionals with the patient, leading to more changes in the nature of interprofessional collaboration.

References

Johnson, K. F., & Mahan, L. B. (2020). Interprofessional collaboration and telehealth: Useful strategies for family counselors in rural and underserved areas. The Family Journal, 28(3), 215-224.

Reeves, S., Pelone, F., Harrison, R., Goldman, J., & Zwarenstein, M. (2017). Interprofessional collaboration to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6).

Wei, H., Corbett, R. W., Ray, J., & Wei, T. L. (2020). A culture of caring: the essence of healthcare interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(3), 324-331.

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Interprofessional Collaboration

Explain how interprofessional collaboration will help reduce errors, provide higher-quality care, and increase safety. Provide an example of a current or emerging trend that will require more or change the nature of interprofessional collaboration.