Initiatives

Collaborative Practice: Interdisciplinary Teams

Each health care professional has their own area of expertise and unique set of skills and knowledge. However, one must recognize that no one practice can accommodate all client needs and that the collaboration and combination of multiple disciplines can improve quality of care, increase the range of available services, decrease physician wait times, and lead to a comprehensive care plan for all.[1] This is important to family physicians' as when they collaborate with other health providers it allows them to use distinctive medical skills for more complex cases requiring medical diagnosis and interventions.[2]

On November 17, 2006, participants identified the wish to engage additional primary care providers within their practice; however, they were unsure of the roles and functions of these additional primary care providers. Working with the colleges and associations of various providers in Manitoba, Fact Sheets have been developed, outlining functions and roles of a variety of providers in the Primary Care Interdisciplinary Team Tool Kit . It is hoped that this toolkit will be useful for Demonstration Sites as they develop strategies to address PIN objectives within their clinic.

For more information on how interdisciplinary teams are incorporated as part of the Physician Integrated Network (PIN) Initiatve, please see visit PIN.

For more information on how to select and introduce additional team members, visit the College of Family Physicians of Canada's Primary Care Toolkit for Family Physicians .

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[1] Ontario Government. (2005). Guide to collaborative team practice. Family Health Team: Advancing Primary Health Care.

[2] Leatt, P., Pink, G. H., Guerriere, M. (2000). Towards a Canadian model of integrated healthcare. Integrated Healthcare. 1(2)