Interprofessional collaboration
Workforce and Leadership
Definition. Interprofessional collaboration is the process in which workers from different health professions work together with patients, families and communities to deliver care.
Explanation
The World Health Organization (2010) links collaborative practice to interprofessional education, in which students of two or more professions learn about, from and with each other. Collaboration involves shared goals, role clarity, communication and joint decision making.
A Cochrane review found that practice-based interventions such as interprofessional rounds, meetings and checklists may slightly improve patient functional status, adherence to recommended practice and use of resources, although the evidence is of low certainty (Reeves et al., 2017).
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Multidisciplinary tumour board (MDT)
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References
Reeves, S., Pelone, F., Harrison, R., Goldman, J., & Zwarenstein, M. (2017). Interprofessional collaboration to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6), CD000072.
World Health Organization. (2010). Framework for action on interprofessional education and collaborative practice. WHO.
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Interprofessional collaboration. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/interprofessional-collaboration/
Articles that discuss this concept
3 articles on The Health Topics use this concept. The list updates as new articles are published.