The following is a summary of “Development, successes, and potential pitfalls of multidisciplinary chronic disease management clinics in a family health team: a qualitative study,” published in the June 2023 issue of Primary Care by Brooks et al.
Family Health Teams were established in Ontario to reconfigure primary care services to meet the requirements of an aging population better, a growing proportion of which is afflicted by frailty and multiple diseases. However, evaluations of family health teams have produced contradictory findings.
Researchers interviewed 22 health professionals affiliated with or employed by a well-established family health team in Southwest Ontario to determine the team’s approach to developing interprofessional chronic disease management programs, including its successes and areas for refinement.
The qualitative analysis of the transcripts uncovered two major themes: Interprofessional team construction and unintentional compartment formation. Two subthemes were identified within the first theme: collegial learning and informal and electronic communication.
Focusing on collegiality among professionals, as opposed to more traditional hierarchical relationships and shared workstations, created opportunities for improved informal communication and shared learning, leading to improved patient care. However, formal communication and process structures are necessary to optimize the deployment, engagement, and professional development of clinical resources to support chronic disease management better and prevent internal care fragmentation for patients with clustered chronic conditions.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-023-02073-x
