Stronger Care Through Teamwork
How Interprofessional Collaboration Improves Primary Care
At ETSU Health’s primary care clinics, it takes more than one set of hands to build
better health. The days of a single doctor handling every part of a patient’s care
are fading. Today, patients face a mix of physical, emotional and social challenges—and
that means they need a health care team. This team-based approach is called interprofessional
care.
In our primary care clinics, where patients often face a mix of physical, emotional and social challenges, it is important to bring together health care professionals from different fields to form a care team, focused on delivering comprehensive, patient-centered care.
What is Interprofessional Care?
Interprofessional care is where multiple health care professionals work together with patients, families and communities to deliver the highest quality of care. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this means bringing together health professionals like pharmacists, dieticians, social workers, and nurse practitioners who work together to create and carry out a shared care plan for patients.
Why it Matters in Primary Care
As interprofessional care has become more common, there is growing evidence that shows the benefits of the practice. Collaboration between health care workers who have different specializations can improve patient outcomes and limit preventable mistakes from happening.
According to an article published by National Library of Medicine (NIH), interprofessional care can help people stay healthier, reduce bad reactions to medications and provide more oversight so that patients are more likely to receive the right amount of medicine. The benefits of interprofessional care are even stronger in patients who have complex health issues or in patients who struggle with mental health.
Interprofessional care can also reduce the cost of care. This happens because patients get the proper care initially and do not have to spend extra time and money seeing health care professionals who are not collaborating on their care.
Vital Roles in Primary Care
Interprofessional care begins the moment a patient is first seen and will continue throughout the patient's time receiving care. This often begins with health care workers who diagnose and moves on to the prescribers, doctors, psychiatrists, medication experts and those who provide for the patient on a daily basis.
Diagnosticians play a crucial role in determining what is wrong with the patient. According to the NIH, diagnostic errors can delay appropriate treatment and potentially lead to unnecessary or even harmful interventions. Collaborating with other specialists helps reduce these errors and increases the accuracy of diagnoses.
Psychiatrists are especially valuable when mental health issues are involved, as these cases can be more complex and require careful medication management. Psychiatrists often consult with other members of the care team, especially pharmacists, to avoid adverse drug interactions and ensure the most effective treatments are chosen.
Pharmacists are essential contributors to primary care teams.
We educate patients and providers on medications including the best treatment options
for each patient, potential side effects, and correct administration of medications.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), incorporating pharmacists into primary care improves using medicine the right way, reduces adverse drug events and supports chronic disease management. In many primary care clinics, pharmacists assist with managing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma by helping to monitor progress and adjust as needed.
Better Care Through Teamwork
This is how ETSU Health delivers care every day, by bringing together the right team to support each patient. Health care is better when experts work together. That is why ETSU Health is proud to offer interprofessional care in our clinics across the region.