Written by: Cecilia Rokusek
Cecilia Rokusek is assistant dean of research and innovation and project director for the Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Rokusek’s guest editorial was initially published on March 24, 2016 and reprinted with the permission from the Office of Public Affairs.
Six years after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010, America is still adapting to health care reform. Whether one agrees with the legislation or not, one thing we should all agree on is that health professionals from all disciplines must work together — and not in silos — for the benefit of the patient.
The law emphasizes interprofessional education for students and professionals, as well as inclusion of the patient and family in the health care team.
This is a paradigm shift from the 20th century, in which patients were not actively involved as members of the health care team to help manage their own care. In addition, professionals often delivered fragmented and “siloed” health care, not working or communicating with other members of the medical team to provide coordinated care in concert with the individual patient/consumer seeking the care.
With the growing incidence of chronic illnesses, there is a need to both prevent and manage these ongoing medical challenges in a collaborative manner with health and social professionals involving the patient and the family at every step.
Studies have demonstrated that interprofessional team-based collaborative care delivered throughout the life span within the context of a medical home can enhance patient outcomes, reduce overall care costs, reduce medical errors, reduce procedural duplication, enhance pharmaceutical compliance, actively involve the patient in his or her own health care, and increase overall health care satisfaction. In fact, more than 60 professional organizations have endorsed the team approach.
We, as a health care community, still have a long way to go to achieve the ideal interprofessional environment. We must continue to build mutual respect among all health and social professions. At the same time, we must respect patients and take time to listen to and understand their questions, concerns and desires.
As professionals, we must be open to shared leadership in patient care and coordination. This means open communication and trust at all levels. In addition, our payment systems must be better coordinated, and the patient/consumer needs to understand the payment system and not fear asking questions.
At NSU, we place a heavy emphasis on this team approach as we shape our next generation of health care leaders. We include interprofessional education in our curricula, integrate different professions into basic science courses so students gain an understanding and mutual respect for their peers, and even host programs, such as Interprofessional Education Day, to emphasize the importance of working together to benefit our patients.
This is the future of health care. Don’t get left behind in your silos.
