The Importance of Collaboration Among Physicians

Abstract

T he Original Investigation titled “Referral and Consultation Communication Between Primary Care and Specialist Physicians: Finding Common Ground” in the January 10, 2011, issue of the Archives lends solid data to a phenomenon that physicians have long recognized. The broken links between primary care and specialty practitioners have an impact on our ability to ensure that quality is sustained throughout patient interactions; this sends a negative ripple effect throughout the health care system. One of the major causes of this problem, not mentioned in the study, is the separate professional education of specialists and general physicians. Continuing education courses, often provided by specialty medical societies, perpetuate the niche approach to medicine that prevents physicians from speaking to each other about the same kinds of patients. Indeed, the continuing education of physicians provides a ready vehicle to foster a new approach to physicianto-physician communication. The mere step of educating primary care physicians in the same venue alongside specialist physicians would promote the kind of communication-friendly systematic structure change that the study authors reference. Curricula should then extend far beyond disease states and treatment methods to examine practical matters in patient management, highlighting not only when and how to refer a patient but also how best to ensure continuity of care after referral. Collaboration is an important approach for increasing patient adherence, improving patient outcomes, and promoting better quality of care throughout the health care system. Physicians who have long worked within a single type of education system can be taught how to engage in better communication, the foundation of more effective patient care.