title: Commentary: patient-centered care, the sine qua non of collaborative medicine.
abstract: Collaborative medicine requires practitioners and disciplines with varied training and philosophies to work together toward a common clinical goal. Distinct differences between the various practitioners and disciplines can serve as both opportunities for synergy and barriers to collaboration. There must be a clear and compelling reason that motivates different practitioners and disciplines to do the hard work needed to overcome barriers to collaboration. Patient-centered care is the compelling reason, the defining characteristic that must underlie all collaborative medicine efforts. The practical application of this principle is illustrated by the experience of a large health care system (Catholic Health Initiatives). From a complexity theory standpoint, patient-centered care and collaboration can be thought of as simple rules that guide desirable behaviors in a complex system. The application of these two simple rules is as relevant in the microcosm of collaborative medicine as it is in the larger macrocosm of health care.
authors.affiliation: Catholic Health Initiatives, 2525 S. Downing 12-L, Denver, CO 80210, USA. milthammerly@chi-national.org
authors.forename: Milt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammerly
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010358:Patient Participation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D011209:Power, Psychological; D014481:United States