Does interprofessional education support integration of care services? A systematic review

Abstract

The increase in and complexity of health challenges has necessitated the need for multi-professional approaches to healthcare and the integration of care services. This study aims to gain an understanding of the role of interprofessional education (IPE) in the integration of care services. A systematic review was conducted using the Discover platform to search databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Education Research Complete, Psychology & Behavioural Service Collection to identify publications on interprofessional education in health care services. Evidence supports IPE as a useful tool to enhance collaborative efforts in disease management and improve patient-centred healthcare delivery. IPE also leads to an overall improvement in diagnosis, treatment and quality of care. We found that IPE enhances collaboration, cohesion and communication in pursuit of optimal patient-centred results, and reduced rigid professional perspectives that can lead to poorer outcomes for patients.