Multidisciplinary: Changing The Atmosphere Of Health Care

“Multidisciplinary“ is defined by Merriam-Webster as “combining or involving more than one discipline or field of study” and lists “interdisciplinary” as a synonym.1 However, these two terms are not exactly synonymous when the Latin roots are considered. LatDict defines the prefix “multi” as a noun meaning “common herd, the many” while the preposition “inter” is defined as “between, among.”2 This small difference can change the atmosphere of health care as well as the outcomes of patient care.

Multidisciplinary care simply means the patient is under the care of multiple health care providers. These may include physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and allied health care members. Some facilities may arrange for the patient to have multiple

appointments on the same day with different providers, who meet afterward to discuss the patient’s case without the presence of the patient. 3 Multidisciplinary teams are an improvement from one provider making all decisions on a patient’s case alone. The largest deficit of a multidisciplinary team is they exclude a crucial member of the patient health care team—the patient.3 Interdisciplinary teams meet the patient together rather than separately, allowing them to interact more closely with the patient and one another as evaluations are being conducted.3 The most significant difference in this approach is the inclusion of the patient in forming short and long term treatment goals.3 Including the patient in their own healthcare team promotes compliance to the steps necessary to achieve the desired health outcome. Interdisciplinary teams also reduce health care costs to the patient and providers by avoiding duplications of labs or tests. This also can avoid misdiagnoses or ineffective therapies, which are another source of health care costs and can reduce the quality of life for the patient.
For interdisciplinary teams to be effective, certain qualities must be present. First, the team vision should be clearly defined.4 This vision unifies the individual characteristics each member will bring to the team and allows them to assess how their strengths and weaknesses fit into the common goal.4 Each team member can use their personality to enhance the competencies and skills of the rest of the team.4 Good communication skills and respect of individual team member roles promote an atmosphere of interprofessionalism, encouraging trust, consensus, and contribution within the team.4 While one person may need to be the lead member of the team, this purpose of this role is to empower and support the other team member while providing consistent management, appropriate resources, and structured procedures to the team.4 Opportunities for personal rewards, training, and development are another indicator of a strong interdisciplinary team.4 Of all of these qualities, the most important is the team focuses on providing patient-centered care.4