Developing Collaborative Care Teams
Advocate for policies that improve the health of the public and the profession of nursing and health care administration. You will develop a proposal for review by the hospital leadership team. This proposal should contain the following (at minimum):
Executive summary detailing the need for collaborative care teams (CCT) and why they will benefit the hospital.
At least one paragraph to summarize each of the following components, citing relevant research as applicable. Assume fictional information to formulate your rationale:
Benefits of CCT to patients
Benefits of CCT to clinical staff
Structure of CCT (what providers are involved, and to what degree)
Oversight and assessment (who is responsible for tracking the success or failure)
Operational/Financial risks or areas of concern
Timeline for implementation
Conclusion: summarize key points to “sell” this proposal. Ideally, this will become a standardized model of care in your hospital, if a pilot is successful.
APA style
Include a cover and reference page
Include a minimum of three references. In-text citations should be used to create relevant research supporting your rationale for using CCT.
Sample Paper
Executive Summary
Collaborative care teams aim at improving patient outcomes by fostering interprofessional cooperation. The current focus in healthcare has shifted to value-based care, which translates to quality and safe care. The hospital needs collaborative care teams to improve health outcomes. Health outcomes are affected by preventable occurrences such as hospital-acquired infections, diagnostic errors, patient falls, and surgical errors. Such harmful occurrences are linked to various factors, including communication failures and poor care transitions. These can be prevented through a collaborative care team that enhances communication and coordination of care. CCT is associated with a reduction in medical errors and improved patient experience and satisfaction. The hospital will benefit from cost-effective care characterized by decreased hospitalizations and medical errors. It will also benefit from increased clients due to improved patient experience and satisfaction. The reputation of the hospital will also be improved.
Benefits of CCT to Patients
CCT leads to improved clinical care by aggregating, modifying, combining, and applying a greater number of skills and knowledge that boost decision making, improving problem-solving, generation, and execution of ideas. In collaborative care teams, healthcare professionals work together in diagnosing health problems, conducting procedures, developing care plans, and providing effective follow-up (Mao & Woolley, 2016). The patients will benefit from CCT as they will receive quality and safe care. Current data indicates that an estimate of 250,000 deaths occurs annually due to preventable patient harm (Rosen et al., 2018). The hospital reports an average of one case of the adverse event every month. CCT will ensure that patients receive care characterized by minimal medical errors in diagnosis and treatment, minimal waiting time, decreased hospitalization periods, and decreased mortality rates. Studies indicate a link between CCT with a reduction in medical errors, increased patient engagement in their care, increased patient education, increased respect and rapport in relationships between health professionals and patients, and improved patient experience and satisfaction (Morley & Cashell, 2017). CCT bridges gaps in various areas, especially communication and sharing of information. Effective communication has a significant impact in improving the quality and safety of patient care.
Benefits of CCT To Clinical Staff
Collaborative teams also benefit clinical staff as they experience increased job satisfaction that stems from increased open communication, increased innovation and creativity, increased trust and respect among the professionals, and an increase in the level of role understanding. According to Morley and Cashell (2017), CCT is associated with improved sharing of evidence-based practices, increased innovation, and improved decision making. Health care professionals are more likely to gain knowledge from their interactions with others as they share data and experiences. CCT also improved the working environment by improving communication and maximizing the contribution of each team member. A collaborative team tends to have a more horizontal than a hierarchical power structure characterized by open communication and increased work engagement. This fosters strong and positive working relationships between health professionals resulting in a healthy working environment that maximizes the performance and productivity of each individual and the team.
Structure of CCT
The structure of a CCT may vary depending on the type and nature of care provided to the patient. A general structure for any CCT comprises a physician or a primary care provider, a nurse, and a pharmacist. The physician or the primary care provider who might be a nurse practitioner is usually the leader and provides major directions that should be taken in the care of the patient. Roles may include ordering diagnoses, recommending prescriptions, and assessing the progress of the patient. The nurse is involved in the daily care of the patient, which comprises drug administration monitoring the patient and reporting the progress to the physician. The pharmacists provide critical insight related to prescription, which promotes the safety of patients. Collaboration between a pharmacist and a physician improves the outcomes of medical therapy by reducing potential harm from medical errors (Gemmechu & Eticha, 2021).
Oversight and Assessment
Oversight and assessment are carried out by the facility’s Board of Directors in collaboration with departmental managers. The directors adopt different metrics to measure the performance and outcomes associated with collaborative care teams. Some metrics that may be used include cost-effectiveness of care, patient experience, patient satisfaction, hospitalization period, medical errors, staff turnover rates, and job satisfaction. The metrics promote oversight and assessment of the impact of a collaborative care team on patients and the staff. Patients’ ratings will be critical in the oversight and assessment as the board of directors will use the data collected. Other essential tools that can be used include the data storage system, including electronic health and electronic medical records. Resource allocation can also be used as an oversight tool by assessing how well the resources are utilized.
Operational/Financial Risks or Areas of Concern
There are various financial and operational risks that the hospital should be ready to address. Financial risks relate to total planning and implementation costs, including training costs, purchases of ns technology, administrative costs, hiring more staff, and others. Healthcare professionals require an opportunity to build teamwork competencies in different areas such as integration of various healthcare technologies, conflict management, and problem-solving skills. Operational risks involve conflict management, accountability, work relations, and duty allocation. Teamwork increases the risks of conflict among team members. Training the professionals on conflict management can address the risk. Organizational policies and procedures can be implemented to address accountability and work relations as effects will be well known. The professionals will be aware of existing limits in behavior and actions. Effective scheduling can be used as a tool to reduce issues related to duties and responsibilities.
Timeline for Implementation
The timeline for implementing the CCT depends on various issues such as the number of activities to be carried out, the support of the administrative team, availability of resources, and cooperation of the staff. The human resource department will play a critical role in the implementation of the CCT. The maximum timeline for implementing the proposal is six months. The table below shows potential activities and an estimated timeline.
