Seven organizations work on interprofessional collaboration initiative
CHICAGO--As the healthcare industry shifts toward a more team-based, coordinated care approach, numerous organizations are studying interprofessional collaboration and determining the best ways to teach providers how to collaborate.
Susan Hassmiller, PhD, senior advisor for nursing at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), said health professional students are not accustomed to working together. Thus, RWJF is revamping its programs and starting to teach the importance of interprofessional collaboration.
Hassmiller, who spoke on Tuesday at the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Congress on Healthcare Leadership, said there would be more of an emphasis in the coming years on patient-centered care, wellness and prevention, improving quality outcomes and integrating services.
To that end, RWJF worked on a project with CFAR, a management consulting firm, examining how healthcare organizations could work together, communicate and put patients first.
The study’s authors interviewed leaders of 16 healthcare delivery organizations and chose seven organizations to participate:
- Aurora Health in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Cincinnati Children’s in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Community Health Centers in Middletown, Connecticut
- Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, Utah
- University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington
- Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island
Jennifer Tomasik, principal at CFAR, said the authors attempted to understand the interprofessional practices and how the work helps patients and families. She said promising practices put patients first, demonstrate leadership commitment, create a level playing field, cultivate effective team communication, explore organizational structure and train different disciplines together.
Participants in the project said interprofessional collaboration improved patient and provider satisfaction, created a safer environment and enhanced the quality of care, according to Tomasik.
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.