When interprofessionalism also involves the patient: how to provide good healthcare beyond care

Abstract

The prevalence of aging-related chronic diseases makes it necessary to change organizational structures. In order to facilitate the transformation of health systems, interprofessional care teams, patient engagement, and collaborative practice will be necessary. Patient-centered interprofessional care is a process based on the collaborative relationship between healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers, as a useful strategy to “develop a shared understanding of the problem and generate a mutually acceptable assessment and management of the care plan”. Everything must take place on a collaborative level, always respecting the different skills. Although the literature provides preliminary information to support the benefits of the patient-centered approach, transformational leadership and an organizational culture are needed to foster learning, research, and the implementation of innovative models to patient care. Furthermore, in the Italian healthcare reality, the aspects of practicability and “sustainability” of this model of care should be considered and the key elements, mechanisms and stages of development necessary for its possible implementation should be better defined.