Health Outcomes in a Primary Care Network Interdisciplinary Team Program

Abstract

Optimizing interdisciplinary teams through the advancement of primary care presents an opportunity to support a sustainable health care system. However, there is mixed evidence regarding the impact of interdisciplinary teams on patient outcomes in primary care. The study purpose was to examine the relationship between select patient reported health outcomes following participation in an interdisciplinary team program for adults with chronic disease. Retrospective data was analyzed for 212 patients who had completed indicators of depression (PHQ-9), quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) and self-management (PAM) at program entry and 6-month follow up. The results revealed improvement in depression, overall self rated quality of life and self-management after attendance in the program. However, functional quality of life was generally not improved. This may have been due to a small sample size which lacked statistical power to detect a difference. These findings add to the literature supporting evidence of interdisciplinary teams improving patient outcomes.