An Interprofessional and Team-Based Approach to Improving the Current Health Care System

For over a decade, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has called for changes in the United States health care delivery system to improve patient care and reduce medical errors. Patients are often cared for by healthcare providers with different training or from different professions, typically in a linear fashion with care and information flow occurring in a silo model. Dysfunctional communication patterns, coordination and lack of teamwork are often cited as key elements requiring improvement within our current healthcare system.

Interprofessional care teams exist where providers from different health professions disciplines work to coordinate care to address a specific patient problem. Interprofessional teams exist when members share a collective identity and collaborate through team communication, decision-making and teamwork in their care of patients (e.g., ICU nurse, physician, and pharmacist working together). Some experts refer to this form of care as "interprofessional collaborative practice" or "team-based care".