Question

how might the public health professional incorporate interprofessional collaboration into the six values of quality in leadership? why is this an important aspect for public health?

Answer 1

The public health professional very much incorporates interprofessional collaboration into the six values of quality in leadership

Interprofessional collaboration is a significant aspect for public health.

1. Improve patient care and outcomes

Along with care team meetings, many hospitals now encourage team-based, patient-centered rounds that include the primary doctor, bedside nurse, specialized physicians, and any other relevant team members. This helps to foster both patient-centered care and interprofessional collaboration in healthcare.

It also helps to have hospital communication technology that lets care teams communicate and collaborate seamlessly and securely on the go or at the point of care

2. Reduce medical errors.

In healthcare, communication gaps can have costly consequences — from missed symptoms to misdiagnoses to medication errors. In fact, medical errors cause 250,000 deaths each year. According to Johns Hopkins, it’s the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

It’s easy to see how accidents can happen, with multiple doctors prescribing multiple medications, and numerous nurses delivering those medications. EHR notes can help, but clinical communication is vital. That means having a group conversation, looping in a pharmacist for some interprofessional collaboration, and ensuring nurses have all the information they need to treat patients safely.

Studies have shown that interprofessional collaboration in healthcare can help to reduce preventable adverse drug reactions, decrease mortality rates, and optimize medication dosages.

3. Start treatment faster.

Much of healthcare is a waiting game. Patients wait for physicians, while physicians wait for other physicians to provide consultations, or for radiology to send back lab results.

Communication delays frustrate patients and waste valuable time, giving conditions time to worsen. That’s why the Joint Commission continually lists “improve staff communication” and “get important test results to the right staff person on time” as a National Patient Safety Goal.

Again, interprofessional collaboration bridges the gaps. So does clinical communication technology. It keeps care team members connected (so they can reach out to that physician who hasn’t entered notes into the EHR) and automates alerts (so they receive text messages when critical lab results come in). Overall a care team collaboration platform delivers the right information to the right people at the right time via secure messaging, voice, or video.

4. Reduce inefficiencies and healthcare costs.

Interprofessional collaboration in healthcare helps to prevent medication errors, improve the patient experience (and thus HCAHPS), and deliver better patient outcomes — all of which can reduce healthcare costs. It also helps hospitals save money by shoring up workflow redundancies and operational inefficiencies.

By improving the interprofessional collaboration model between its nurses and physicians, one hospital cut its fall rate in half, decreased average length-of-stay by 0.6 days, increased annualized bed turn by 20 percent, and increased discharges before noon by 20 percent.

5. Improve staff relationships and job satisfaction.

Every health profession has its own subculture, knowledge base, and philosophy. When you add power structures, some members’ voices get prioritized over others. That’s not good for the patient or for staff morale.

Interprofessional collaboration levels the playing field and acknowledges that everyone plays a vital role on the care team. That sense of community and camaraderie can also boost staff retention and recruitment.