Page 9 - ASCO IPECP Toolkit
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Why are Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Important for Optometric Education and the Profession of Optometry?
Interdisciplinary team-based patient care
The current state of health care delivery is gaining widespread attention as new demands
on health care have emerged. An aging population, longer life spans, and chronic health problems are changing priorities in health care practice and education.8 In the evolving health care delivery environment, it is now important for providers to expand their scope of interdisciplinary team-based patient care, and it is vital for educational programs to identify the mechanisms that shape successful collaborative teamwork and effective communication.9 Given their roles within the health care system and local communities, Doctors of Optometry are uniquely positioned to participate in collaborative practice (CP). The Schools and Colleges of Optometry are similarly uniquely positioned to establish the foundation for collaborative practice through effective interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives.
As part of these core discussions about IPE, CP, and team-based care, multiple key questions are being raised:
Ë Who are the members of health care teams?
Ë What are the attributes of effective teams and team-based care?
Ë How is the composition of the health care team affected by practice context and needs of the patient / client?
• Is team-based care location-driven?
• Are teams real or virtual?
• Are teams hospital- or community-based?
• What are the roles of patients and communities on health care teams?
• How does IPE / CP measurably affect patient care outcomes?
As these questions suggest, effective IPE / CP is not a single identified model; rather, there are many potential approaches to IPE / CP that can contribute to positive patient outcomes.
 updated August 2022 ASCO IPECP Toolkit
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