Overcoming Barriers to Collaborative Team Practice: A System Approach

All healthcare systems are challenged to provide sufficient access to appropriate care for the individuals and communities they serve. Among the commonly discussed interventions in an era of clinical shortages is the establishment of team-based care, where team members can practice at the top of their license. This solution ensures that talent and ability are amplified. However, this vision has been thwarted by several barriers. Recognizing that complex causes prevent team-based care, CommonSpirit Health leadership has embarked on a multifaceted implementation of tactics to mitigate the barriers. The strategy addresses issues ranging from regulations, laws, and payment practices to a lack of knowledge and understanding between professions. A combination of solutions, rather than discrete tactics, holds the key to the system's strategy. The complement of actions put in place at CommonSpirit Health has included new executive roles, dyad leadership models, shared multidisciplinary education, targeted advocacy, best practice playbooks, and the flexibility to individualize local models as part of the journey to a more effective and efficient model of care.