Team Based Health Care Delivery - Term Paper Example

?Running head: TEAM-BASED HEALTH CARE DELIVERY Team-based Health Care Delivery (school) Team-Based Health Care Delivery Introduction Team work is one of the most important elements of delivering effective health services. The delivery of interventions and health services is multi-faceted and multi-systemic. These services are delivered by various health professionals with a variety of specializations and health expertise. These services may include the following services: medicine (including specializations), nursing, pharmacy, and nutrition. These services need to be coordinated with each other in order to achieve improved and efficient patient outcomes. This paper shall discuss the team approaches to the delivery of health services. It shall highlight the health care environment of a long-term care facility. First, a patient case shall be presented, followed by the description of a team which would deliver care and their individual roles. Next, this paper shall identify and describe the indicators and determinants of health that would influence or impact this case. This paper will also describe the impact this team based approach would have on management and line staff. An analysis of key financial and resource savings for consumers and insurance companies as they apply to this model would also be considered. Finally, an analysis of key financial considerations would also be considered in this case in order to establish a clear overview of the team-based approach in the health care system. Body Patient case This paper considers the case of an elderly patient diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The patient is now under long-term care for his disease and suffers from various health conditions which present additional risks to his diabetes. He already has a history of hypertension and osteoarthritis; he is also overweight. The patient was recently admitted to the hospital for dizziness, headaches, high blood pressure, and for blurred vision. He was already diagnosed with diabetes a year prior to this current admission. He had an attending physician specializing on endocrinology, a nurse, pharmacist, and a dietitian attending to his needs. Health team The endocrinologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and managing illnesses which affect the endocrine system, including diabetes. These doctors prescribe the right medications and they monitor the patients for diabetes complications (WebMd, 2005). They also schedule blood glucose testing and recommend other possible options in diabetes care. The nurse works with the endocrinologist in the fulfillment of doctor’s orders and in delivering bedside care. They regularly monitor the patient’s vital signs, pain levels, as well as general health conditions (Burden, 2003). The nurse would also refer the patient’s concerns to the appropriate health professional for their proper recommendation and action (Burden, 2003). The pharmacist ensures the medication management of the patient. He would work with the doctor in planning medications and their schedule of administration (Campbell, 2002). He would also work with the doctor in establishing which medications would have adverse reactions with each other, and the possible side effects can be expected for each drug. These pharmacists are also expected to provide patient education on each drug (Campbell, 2002). Since the patient is a diabetic, he needs nutritional management. A nutritionist or a dietitian would therefore be important in patient care (McCarthy, 2007). He would help in the planning of meals; and in recommending which foods the patient can take and which foods he must avoid (McCarthy, 2007). The appropriate amount for each food item, as well as for each meal shall also be established by this nutritionist. Indicators and determinants of health The indicators of health that would influence or impact this case are his blood sugar levels, his BMI, and his blood pressure. Indicators of his blood sugar would help determine whether or not his diabetes is being managed and if extremely high and extremely low levels of blood sugar are being ensured (Nicolucci, Greenfield, and Mattke, 2006). His BMI would also indicate whether or not his diet and his food intake are being managed. Since the patient is overweight and is diabetic, his weight has to be regularly monitored in order to determine whether or not he is following the prescribed nutrition and diet recommendations (Nicolucci, et.al., 2006). Finally, since he is already a hypertensive and now a diabetic patient, his blood pressure has to be monitored at least once a day, preferably before bed time. An increase or a decrease in his blood pressure would determine the possible onset of complications of the disease, which in this patient’s case may lead to strokes and other complications (Nicolucci, et.al., 2006). Impact of team-based approach The impact of the team-based approach on management would be that the managers would consider various health professionals in establishing a plan of care for the patient (Zwarenstein, Goldman, and Reeves, 2009). In caring for the patient, a team would be assigned to work on the patient. Preferably, this team should already have experience working with each other; and they must already work well each other as a team. It is the task of the manager to establish such a team (Zwarenstein, et.al., 2009). The line staff’s duty would be to find their place in the team and to consider their functions as a part of the team (Grunbach and Bodenheimer, 2004). The team-based approach creates a different dynamic for the workplace. It is a dynamic where individual jobs and functions no longer work isolated or apart from one other; instead, they work in conjunction with each other (Zwarenstein, et.al., 2009). Referrals and consultations would therefore be an essential part of the team functions. Analysis of financial and resource savings for consumers In applying the team-based approach, the delivery of care would be more efficient, and the days of admission or illness would be shortened. As a result, the cost on the part of the patient would be reduced and less hospital space and resources would be allocated to the patient (Williams, 2008). All in all, the team-based approach provides a cost-efficient option for patients. Fewer expenses would also be borne by the patient and fewer allocations would be directed by the hospital for the care of long-term care patients (Williams, 2008). Insurance companies would also be able to offer long-term care insurance for patients under lesser premiums. Advantages of team-based approach Based on a leadership position, there are numerous advantages in using the team-based approach. For one, it provides the leader with a more united and coordinated opportunity to implement interventions for the patient (Kirkman and Rosen, 1999). With the members of the team working with each other, knowing their functions as members of the team, the work of the leader would also be easier and faster to implement. The team-based approach would also be advantageous because it would ensure that a holistic approach to health care would be administered to the patient (Radford, 2011). The manager would achieve better results in this case; he would also be able to ensure the efficient use and allocation of health resources and personnel for the patient’s care. Team work is also advantageous for leaders because there is a coordinated communication within the team (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2010). Members already understand that the care of the patient has to be coordinated with the other members of the team; therefore, they need to communicate with each other, informing the other professionals of their interventions and consulting with them about these interventions (Mickan, and Rodger, 2008). Members who communicate with each other would be able to eliminate patient errors, provide speedy and efficient care, reduce conflicts in interventions, eliminate professional conflicts, and achieve improved patient outcomes (Mickan and Rodger, 2008). There would also be a better cohesion among members with the application of the team-based approach. Through team cohesion, members are prompted to cooperate interdependently with each other based on the member’s tasks and the team’s goals (Husting, 1996). In the social sense, team cohesion prompts members to want to stay with each other even for future tasks. For a team leader, team cohesion would also reduce team conflicts (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2010). Since members already like working and prefer to work with each other (not with other non-members), there would be an unspoken quality to the team’s working (Mickan and Rodger, 2008). They would already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses; they would know how each member works; and they would know what would irritate or annoy their team members. There is a seamless quality to the team working because of this cohesion (Mickan and Rodger, 2008). Hence, for the leader of this team, he would also have a group of people whom he can trust to work well with each other, a team which would be able to care for the patient efficiently. Conclusion Team-based working in health care is an indispensable requirement in the delivery of efficient health services. In the care of a diabetes patient, a health team is needed to deliver efficient health services. This team works with each other as members of the group, not as individual health professionals. Each member has individual functions and when they work as a team, they can accomplish faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective patient outcomes. For a leader working with a team, his job would be less tedious and more productive. Reference Burden, M. (2003). Diabetes: treatment and complications - the nurse's role. Nursing Times, 99(2), p. 30. Grunbach, K. & Bodenheimer, T. (2004). Can Health Care Teams Improve Primary Care Practice? JAMA, 291(10), pp. 1246-1251. Husting, P. (1996). Leading work teams and improving performance. Nursing Management, 27(9), pp. 35-38. Kirkman, B. & Rosen, B. (1999). Beyond Self-management: Antecedents and Consequences of Team Empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), pp. 58-74. McCarthy, M. (2007). Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Juvenile Diabetes: Reassuring Advice for Managing Symptoms and Raising a Healthy, Happy Child. New York: Everything Books. Mickan, S. & Rodger, S. (2000). Characteristics of effective teams: a literature review. Australian Health Review, 23(3), pp. 201-208. Nicolucci, A., Greenfield, S., & Mattke, S. (2006). Selecting indicators for the quality of diabetes care at the health systems level in OECD countries. Int J Qual Health Care, 18 (suppl 1), pp. 26-30. Radford, S., Van Driel, M. & Swanton, K. (2011). Improving health outcomes in young people – a holistic, team based approach. Aust Fam Physician, 40(3), pp. 153-6. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (2010). The team approach to diabetes in general practice: A guide for practice nurses. Retrieved 31 March 2012 from http://www.racgp.org.au/content/navigationmenu/clinicalresources/racgpguidelines/diabetesmanagement/diabetespracticenursesguide.pdf WebMd (2005). Diabetes Doctors and Other Health Care Providers. Retrieved 31 March 2012 from http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-doctors-choosing-your-health-care-team Williams, J. (2008). A team approach to cost containment: how can finance collaborate with clinicians to reduce labor expenses and supply chain costs? Find Articles. Retrieved 31 March 2012 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_4_62/ai_n25338452/ Zwarenstein, M., Goldman, J. & Reeves, S. (2009). Interprofessional collaboration: effects of practice-based interventions on professional practice and healthcare outcomes (Review). Cochrane Collaboration. Retrieved 31 March 2012 from http://ipls.dk/pdf-filer/ip_collaboration_cochrane.pdf Read More