Question: Multidisciplinary Approach to Patient Care Do patients believe that care is always well coordinated? Are patients at times treated based on short "handwritten notes" by the prescribing physician? Are mistakes sometimes made because of illegible handwriting? Is it helpful to the radiologist if the ordering physician notes on the order sheet why a particular imaging study is required? Do nurses sometimes find it necessary to clarify medication orders? Do pharmacists find it necessary to contact the physician when there are dosing questions? Would it be helpful for the prescribing physician to discuss a patient's needs with the treating therapist? Would it be helpful if the physician reviewed the imaging studies of his or her patient with serious neck injuries, prior to treatment by a therapist? Does understaffing affect the quality of care? Jill recently visited a pain center where the medical director had integrated a pain therapist into the hospital's pain management program. After several visits to the hospital's pain management program, Jill complimented the staff as to their multidisciplinary approach to her care.

The medical director stated that the success of the hospital's pain management program was due to the multidisciplinary approach practiced in the hospital. He stated that pain management is often poorly practiced because of the failure of the treating physician to become more involved in the patient's therapy. A patient's pain is often exacerbated because of a superficial treatment plan that fails to include the physician, and the failure to provide the images to the treating therapist. Both the physician and treating therapist, and most importantly the patient's care, are optimized when there is ongoing communication among caregivers. The medical director further stated that professionalism and satisfaction among caregivers improve when communications flow freely. Jill again complimented the staff and stated that she would not hesitate to recommend the hospital's pain management program to her family and friends. The next time a patient is treated by a caregiver, the patient should ask, What records have you seen? Have you discussed my treatment plan with my physician? What were my physician's specific orders? May I see them? What precautions have you been asked to follow with me? Have you seen my imaging studies? Has anyone discussed them with you? My pledge as a patient: I will ask myself, am I being treated in an assembly-line fashion, assembled in a room like cattle, without privacy in cramped corridors by a caregiver who, because of understaffing, is frantically moving from patient to patient, or am I truly getting individualized care and treatment in a style worthy of the words "I am receiving quality care"?

1. Regardless of your profession or health care setting, discuss how the multidisciplinary approach to patient care might be improved in your organization.

2. Consider and discuss what questions you might ask if you were the patient undergoing treatment.