Team dynamics, clinical work satisfaction, and patient care coordination between primary care providers: A mixed...

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Research
• Health Services Research
• Teamwork in Healthcare

Background:

• Team-based care is crucial for high-quality patient outcomes.
• Research on team dynamics' impact on provider outcomes is limited.
• Understanding provider experiences within team-based care is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between team dynamics and primary care provider (PCP) work satisfaction.
• To investigate the link between team dynamics and patient care coordination among PCPs.
• To explore the mediating role of care coordination on PCP satisfaction and team dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey administered to 548 PCPs across 18 practices; 65% response rate.
• Assessed relationships between team dynamics, PCP satisfaction, and care coordination.
• Employed a convergent mixed-methods design with qualitative evaluation.

Main Results:

• Improved team dynamics correlated positively with PCP clinical work satisfaction and patient care coordination.
• Care coordination partially mediated the team dynamics-satisfaction link for attending clinicians.
• No mediating effects were found for resident physicians; qualitative data supported attending clinician relevance.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing primary care team dynamics can boost PCP satisfaction and improve patient care coordination.
• Interventions targeting team dynamics may address primary care workforce challenges.
• Positive team dynamics appear particularly beneficial for attending clinician satisfaction and retention.