The Covid-19 pandemic propelled the healthcare industry into telemedicine almost overnight. Now, more than two years later, doctors and health care practices and organizations are able to take a breath and consider how to optimize virtual visits for patients and physicians. One way to do this is by implementing a physician-led team-based care approach much like the systems used for in-office visits.
What is Team-Based Care?
Team-based care is an orchestrated office system that allows doctors and other in-office professionals to work together to take care of a patient. They accomplish this by each professional bringing their strengths to the task at hand, and performing at the highest level of their skill set and training. When the pandemic hit, the hard-won workflow of these office systems reverted to a routine rooted in the past, where physicians alone carried out most of the work.
Why is Team-Based Care Important?
For many physicians and practices, the pandemic forced health care providers to pivot to telehealth before a team-based approach could be established, but a physician-does-all system is not sustainable in a telemedicine environment any more than it’s sustainable in an in-office environment. The benefits of team-based care include increased accessibility, improved quality of patient care, increased patient access to care, improved team efficiency, improved satisfaction among patients and physicians, and reduced burnout among professionals.
Team-Based Care Provides an Advocate for the Patient
When a medical assistant or nurse accompanies a physician in an exam room, they are serving partly as an advocate for the patient, and this can be true for telemedicine environments as well. The nurse or medical assistant on the virtual call can be sure that the physician has provided all the care that was needed in the context of that visit.
Team-Based Care Strengthens Trust with Patients
Trust is a crucial component of the patient-physician relationship. Adding another clinical staff member to that dynamic during a telemedicine visit gives the patient a chance to establish a trusting relationship with an additional medical professional. This person can be an added ear for the patient — someone else they can turn to with questions or concerns. Additionally, when a member of the clinical staff can take care of electronic health records and documentation, the physician is free to focus solely on the patient, which further solidifies the trust built between them.
How to Implement Team-Based Care
Successful team-based care approaches center the patient and promote strong written and verbal communication. Each care team member must be appointed a clearly-defined role in which they use their skills at the highest capacity. Organization leaders should also develop procedures for communicating information about the patient, ensuring that each team member has access to the data needed to make informed care decisions. Finally, be sure the patient understands that they have the support of a team by emphasizing each team member’s role with the patient.
