Interprofessional care (IPC) is a collaborative, team-based approach to providing optimal patient care. It benefits and empowers patients, and significantly improves health care provider satisfaction. Studies have shown that IPC can lead to:
- increased access to health care
- improved outcomes for people with chronic diseases
- less tension and conflict among caregivers
- better use of clinical resources
- easier recruitment of caregivers
- lower rates of staff turnover
In Ontario, although IPC has gained a foothold at the grassroots level, a concerted, system-wide approach to its implementation is needed. Implementing IPC, and establishing a firm base for interprofessional education (IPE), requires the commitment of a range of stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, health care professional organizations, academic institutions, hospitals, insurers, community and support agencies, organized labour, researchers, patient/consumer groups, government, crown agencies, health caregivers, educators, administrators, patients, and families. In the summer of 2007, Interprofessional Care: A Blueprint for Action in Ontario was submitted to the provincial government by the Interprofessional Care Steering Committee, which was struck following an IPC summit in 2006. The goal of the Committee was to create a blueprint to guide government, educators, health caregivers, organizational leaders, regulators, and patients in how to make the adoption of IPC a reality.