The formal health research literature on
collaboration in primary health care comes at the issue from different
perspectives, and so descriptions of what collaboration really looks
like, and what it delivers, vary.
Most definitions highlight that collaborative care
is highly patient-centred and involves the co-ordination and teamwork of
a group of primary health care providers, including both medical and
non-medical clinicians. These professionals work together as a team to
meet the assessed health care needs of their client or patient. The
distinct skills and expertise of providers from different disciplines,
and their varied care settings, are accessed during the continuum of
care. The goal of collaboration is to have services provided by the
health professional that can best meet the individual�s needs when and
where they need it. Strong communication (in a variety of forms
including face-to-face and electronic) and co-ordination also
characterize these collaborative arrangements.
Interdisciplinary collaboration among health and
wellness professionals involves [i]:
The Enhancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration in
Primary Health Care (EICP) Initiative uses the following definitions:
��an interprofessional process of communication
and decision-making that enables the separate and shared knowledge and
skills of health care providers to synergistically influence the
client/patient care provided� (Way, Jones and Busing 2000). [ii]Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice
��is designed to promote the active participation of each discipline in
patient care. It enhances patient and family centred goals and values,
provides mechanisms for continuous communication among care givers,
optimizes staff participation in clinical decision making within and
across disciplines and fosters respect for disciplinary contributions of
all professionals� (Health Canada, 2003). [iii]Primary health care
�involves responding to illness within the broader determinants of
health. It also includes coordinating, integrating and expanding systems
and services to provide more population health, sickness prevention and
health promotion by all disciplines. It encourages the best use of all
health providers to maximize the potential of all health resources.� (Mable
and Marriott 2002). [iv][i]
CMA, CNA, Working Together: A Joint CNA/CMA Collaborative Practice
Project, HIV/AIDS Example (Ottawa: CMA, 1996), p. 7.
[ii] Way, D.O., Busing, N., and L. Jones,
Implementation strategies: Collaboration in primary care-family doctors
and nurse practitioners delivering shared care, (Toronto: The
Ontario College of Family Physicians, May 18 2000), p. 3.
[iii] IECPCP, Interdisciplinary education for
collaborative patient-centred practice: Research and Findings Report,
(Ottawa: Health Canada, February 20 2004), p. ii.
[iv] A. Mable and J. Marriott, Sharing the
learning-The health transition fund synthesis series: Primary health
care, (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002).
