Relationships Between Interprofessional Teamwork and Clinical Management of

• Main Author: Stephens, Jacqueline G.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: ScholarWorks 2017
• Subjects: Chronic Care Model; diabetes management; inderdisciplinary; Patient-Aligned Care Teams; teamwork; veterans; Nursing
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4565; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5669&context=dissertations

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent chronic disease that affects 29 million people in the United States including over 2 million veterans who receive care through the Veterans Administration. Patient-aligned care teams (PACTs) are an interprofessional teamwork system designed to improve outcomes of chronic illness, but empirical explorations of the efficacy of the PACTs have been insufficient. Utilizing the chronic care model, the purpose of this retrospective study was to determine if PACTs have been efficient in the diabetic management of veterans receiving care through a Southeastern VA. Medical records for 114 veterans with type 2 DM were randomly selected. A 1-way ANOVA was used to analyze outcomes for 5 evidence-based standards (SBP, DBP, BGL, A1C, & LDL) among 6 outpatient clinics. A repeated measures ANOVA was used for the same 5 evidence-based standards for the clinics to assess if there were any changes from FY2014 to FY2016. Results revealed that blood pressure readings and LDL levels met evidence-based standards, while A1C and BGL levels did not. No significant differences over the 3-year period were noted nor were there significant differences in patterns of performance between the clinics. The findings provide an essential basis for initiating a discussion on the potential of PACTs for the delivery of quality healthcare to U.S. veterans with diabetes and other chronic diseases. Positive social change can result from improving the delivery of healthcare using the PACT model to decrease morbidity, improve clinical outcomes, and increase the quality of life of U.S. veterans with type 2 DM. Future research that examines perceptions of clinical team members, team stability, and the delivery of shared care is warranted.