Currently submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Nov 26, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Nov 27, 2024 - Jan 22, 2025
(currently open for review and needs more reviewers - can you help?)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Towards a conceptual framework for digitally supported communication, coordination, cooperation and collaboration in interprofessional healthcare: A scoping review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital tools for interprofessional interaction (D4C), including electronic health records and specialised apps, are increasingly used in healthcare to ensure continuity of care across professional boundaries. Despite their growing adoption, there is not yet any comprehensive framework to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of D4C.
Objective:
This study aims to provide such a conceptual framework as a foundation for their operationalisation.
Methods:
A scoping review was conducted across Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo and Scopus to identify studies on D4C. We included peer-reviewed studies in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish published since 2012. Definitions of the interaction mode (communication, coordination, cooperation and collaboration) and the digital tool supporting these interactions, along with their definitions in cited references, were extracted and analysed.
Results:
Of the 407 identified articles addressing D4C, 6.1% defined the digital concept and 6.6% the interaction supported by the digital tool, with even fewer being backed by a reference (4.7% for digital concepts and 3.9% for interactions). The analysis of the definitions revealed a hierarchical framework, detailing dimensions, requisites and goal for each mode of interaction and the digital tool. It delineates progression from communication to collaboration: communication enables the exchange of information; coordination involves organising people, resources and activities; cooperation focuses on dividing tasks to achieve shared goals; and collaboration, at the apex, involves jointly addressing care needs. Each mode of interaction can be supported by digital tools.
Conclusions:
The proposed D4C framework offers a structured approach to understanding, implementing and evaluating digital tools for interprofessional interactions in healthcare. As such, it can inform developers for creating appropriate tools, guide policy makers with regard to regulatory decisions and support stakeholders in their understanding of D4C, possibly improving workflows and patient care. Further research is needed to operationalize and validate the framework across healthcare settings. Clinical Trial: Protocol paper:
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.