Improving Primary Health Care Through Collaboration: Briefing 2 ...

For the exclusive use of Mona Lesage, mlesage@wrha.mb.ca, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.10 | Improving Primary Health Care Through Collaboration: Briefing 2—October 2012to primary care, improve health outcomes, and potentiallyproduce cost-savings for the broader health system andfor society.Due to barriers to interprofessional collaboration thatoccur at the individual, practice, and system levels, thecurrent IPC team models are not optimized. Individuallevelbarriers include the lack of role clarity and trustand the perceived and projected professional hierarchywithin the team. Practice-level barriers include lack ofstrong governance and leadership to manage complexpractices, difficulties in establishing appropriate skillmix and team size, lack of physical space and time forcommunication and collaboration, and inadequate communicationmechanisms and tools. System-level barriersinclude inadequate interprofessional education and training,sub-optimal funding models, and lack of appropriatemonitoring and evaluation to inform change.In the subsequent briefing we will synthesize the evidenceon the effectiveness of current IPC team models,and estimate the potential health and economic impactsof optimizing IPC teams in the management of chronicconditions, using the examples of diabetes and depression.The barriers to interprofessional collaborationidentified in this second briefing can be overcome toenhance IPC teams and maximize effectiveness. Thefourth and final briefing will propose recommendationson how to address these barriers to interprofessionalcollaboration and establish guidelines for optimizingand sustaining IPC teams. Acknowledging that there isno one-size-fits-all solution, these guidelines will takeinto account the commonalities within successful modelsand other factors that impact IPC team effectivenessand efficiency.BibliographyBateman, H., P. Bailey, and H. McLellan. “OfRocks and Safe Channels: Learning to Navigate as anInterprofessional Team.” Journal of InterprofessionalCare 17, no. 2 (2003): 141–50.Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies inHealth. Real-Time (Synchronous) Telehealth in PrimaryCare: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews. 2008.http://cadth.ca/media/pdf/427A_Real-Time-Synchronous-Telehealth-Primary-Care_tr_e.pdf (accessedOctober 1, 2012).Canadian Alliance of Community Health CentreAssociations. Characteristics of CHCs. www.cachca.ca/about/aboutchcs.html (accessed October 1, 2012).Canadian Institute for Health Information. HealthCare in Canada 2009: A Decade in Review. Ottawa:CIHI, 2009.Chen, E.H, D.H. Thom, D.M. Hessler, L. Phengrasamy,H. Hammer, G. Saba, and T. Bodenheimer. “Usingthe Teamlet Model to Improve Chronic Care in anAcademic Primary Care Practice.” Journal of GeneralInternal Medicine 25, suppl. 4 (2010): S610–14.Cohen, S.G., and D.E. Bailey. “What Makes TeamsWork: Group Effectiveness Research From the ShopFloor to the Executive Suite.” Journal of Management23, no. 3 (1997): 239–90.Dinh, T. Improving Primary Health Care ThroughCollaboration. Briefing 1: Current KnowledgeAbout Interprofessional Teams in Canada.Ottawa: CBoC, 2012.Donald, F., R. Martin-Misener, D. Bryant-Lukosius,K. Kilpatrick, S. Kaasalainen, N. Carter, P. Harbman,I. Bourgeault, and A. DiCenso. “The PrimaryHealthcare Nurse Practitioner Role in Canada.”Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership 23,Special Issue (2010): 88–113.Drinka, T.J., and P.G. Clark. Health Care Teamwork:Interdisciplinary Practice and Teaching. Westport,CT: Auburn House, 2000.Drummond, N., K. Abbott, T. Williamson, andB. Somji. “Interprofessional Primary Care in AcademicFamily Medicine Clinics.” Canadian Family Physician58, no. 8 (2012): e450–58.Find this briefing and other Conference Board research at www.e-library.ca