Implementing an Interdisciplinary Healthcare Quality Project

Abstract

Bringing together healthcare professionals from several disciplines for a quality project can provide many benefits. This article describes the collaborative process between nursing and dental services at a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center as they assessed and evaluated the practice of oral hygiene among 120 long-term care patients. Enhancement of interdisciplinary collaboration occurred through appropriate disciplinary representation and leadership, clarification of disciplinary vocabularies, firsthand empirical assessment, and timely feedback. With each discipline combining resources, fostering open communication, and evaluating the project, the collaborative process was optimized. Benefits of this interdisciplinary quality project included (a) more comprehensive and holistic evaluation of patients' oral hygiene practices, (b) quality assessment in a timely fashion, (c) establishment of rapport between individuals who otherwise might not have an opportunity to interact, (d) improved communication and understanding between disciplines, and (e) development of better patient care indicators.

A Systematic Literature Review of Quality Management Initiatives in Dental Clinics

“…The majority of outcomes in this category are qualitative and imply ideas and recommendations for improving dental quality management and professional practices. An important part of outcomes is represented by qualitative and quantitative real outcomes, such as improved documentation [ 35 ], reduced waiting list [ 48 ], improved work environment [ 89 ], enhancement of interdisciplinary collaboration [ 66 ], and reduction in number of missed appointments [ 97 ].…”