LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS

                                                                                                                            Collaborative Health Care

                                                                                                        The Key to an Equitable and Efficient Health System

       In our present health care system in America there is considerable waste, inefficiency and unnecessary expense. Health Care costs are skyrocketing and major reform of the system is necessary and inevitable. Greater efficiency and quality are essential for improving health care delivery. And, a more equitable system of premium payments and health care delivery is needed.  There are now numerous suggestions for plans that will hopefully improve our health system, reduce costs of premiums and provide service to the fifty million Americans who are without health care coverage or have inadequate programs of service. What is the best plan to help improve quality and promote greater efficiency in every area of health care? The best plan may be found in a collaborative team approach to health care delivery that is able to focus on the overall needs and services for patients efficiently and qualitatively from admission to diagnosis to treatment.

       The holistic approach to health care has long been considered as the best approach for preventive medicine. Treating the whole patient helps to keep doctors focused on what is best for their long term health. In our present system of specialized care there is the tendency to treat the disease often ignoring prevention and overall needs of the patient. This holistic approach usually consists of a team of collaborative physicians and nurses who work together to identify the immediate and long term health concerns of the each patient upon admission. A similar approach is now being used by some hospitals and health delivery systems. Then, after considerable collaboration and consultation with each other, they prescribe what is necessary in terms of treatment and care for both the short and the long term for the patient. This system when combined with an equitable payment plan is the most cost-efficient over the lifetime of the patient while providing for the greatest level of quality. From admission to diagnosis to treatment each patient is treated as a whole person with concern for the overall health and condition of the patient as well as their specific immediate health needs.  In addition, every patient is treated equally at each stage of the system.

       The greatest advantage of the collaborative and holistic approach is the emphasis on the prevention of future health problems as well as the treatment of the immediate health concerns of the patient. By working as a collaborative team all possibilities are covered regarding what the patient needs and how it can be provided in the most qualitative and efficient manner. Treatment is then provided at the collaborative hospital or if there are other specialized needs of the patient a secondary facility and doctor may be recommended if necessary. Also, many procedures and treatments can be implemented on an outpatient basis safely and efficiently with great savings to the patient and the health care system. The Collaborative Team Approach can determine what the best approach is for the patient. With the primary care facility established for diagnosis, treatment and prevention, the patient always has a primary source for their health history and primary care. And, with the collaborative team approach to health care delivery, the patient can be assured of a more accurate diagnosis and a cost effective prescription for treatment with their overall future health and well-being in mind.

       Even the best of doctors realize that a second or third opinion is often necessary to make sure that patients are receiving the best possible diagnosis and treatment. The team approach builds into it the opinions of a variety of physicians with the option of recommending other opinions if necessary. In the old system the patient must often shop around for other physician opinions who do not necessarily consult with each other about the needs of the patient. In this system treatments are often recommended based upon the specialization of the doctor. For example, doctors who are surgeons are much more likely to recommend surgery than doctors who are diagnosticians. And, doctors are much more likely to consult with other specialists about a patient if they work together as a team to prescribe a program of treatment. This information that can only be achieved by talking with expert specialists in other areas is essential when considering the need for surgery or a program of prescribed medicine.

       Collaborative Health Care provides the most efficient, equitable, qualitative and cost-effective approach to health care delivery and should be a major part of any new program for health care reform. Disjointed, inefficient and narrow approaches to providing patient care have caused health care costs to skyrocket in the past with no real improvement to the system. With a new and more efficient Collaborative Team Approach to health care delivery, everyone, from the patients to the doctors to the health care system will benefit by lowering costs while providing improved overall quality in diagnosis and treatment with greater emphasis on prevention.

 Copyright 2009, Global Leadership Resources: For teaching or classroom use only.

                                                                                      Discussion Questions

1. What are the primary causes of inefficiency and the skyrocketing costs of health care? How can a Collaborative Team Approach to health care delivery lower cost and improve the quality of health care?
2. What is an holistic approach to health care and how can a Collaborative System work with this approach to improve health care and facilitate prevention?
3. Discuss the Collaborative Approach to health care delivery? Where is it being used today, and what are the benefits and concerns with this approach?
4. What are some of the problems for patients seeking a second opinion and how can a Collaborative Approach assist them in this effort?
5. Discuss the Collaborative Approach to diagnosis and treatment and how is it successfully implemented for the benefit of patients?
6. What is a primary care facility and why is it necessary for every patient to have one? Discuss the benefits of using outpatient care and how the Collaborative Approach to health care delivery facilitates this.
7. What has prevented the Collaborative Team Approach to health care in the past and how can it be overcome to provide improved, cost-effective health care?