Multidisciplinary collaboration

The goal of multidisciplinary collaboration is the overall improvement of the patient's health and outcomes. Referral or consultation is required based on the clinician's level of expertise in the clinical case at hand. For example, when a diabetic patient develops a neuropathy and can no longer be safely managed in the primary setting, he/she is referred to a specialist to advance their care, perform further testing or implement a stronger medication regimen.

When multiple professions work together to achieve common goals and put their efforts into solving a variety of problems and complex issues, then proper interprofessional collaboration has been used (Green, & Johnson, 2015). 

Collaborative practice in health care can improve: 

• Coordination- team members work together towards the same goals.
• Cooperation- team members assist each other, know and understand the value of their contribution
• Shared decision-making- team members exchange ideas, plan interventions and strive to maintain balance
• Partnerships- all team members are valued and their relationships are meaningful and respectful 

Research has shown that collaboration among clinicians can help:

• reduce patient lengths of stay
• reduce hospital costs
• decrease mortality rates
• improve the overall efficiency of care

References

Dichter, J. (2003).Teamwork and Hospital Medicine: A Vision for the Future. Critical Care Nurse. Retrieved from http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/23/3/8.full

Sullivan, T. J. (1998). Collaboration: a health care imperative (pp. 646). New York: McGraw-Hill

Green, B. N., & Johnson, C. D. (2015). Interprofessional collaboration in research, education, and clinical practice: working together for a better future. The Journal of chiropractic education, 29(1), 1-10.