Implementing a Monthly Interdisciplinary Team Meeting to Promote Optimal Outcomes for High Risk Obstetric Patients and Their Newborns
Title: Implementing a Monthly Interdisciplinary Team Meeting to Promote Optimal Outcomes for High Risk Obstetric Patients and Their Newborns
- Identify members of the interdisciplinary team.
- State how coordination of care empowers all interdisciplinary team members to provide excellence in care.
- Cite how collaboration promotes optimal outcomes.
Coordination of care for high risk obstetric patients and their babies is vital to promoting optimal outcomes. When an obstetric patient receives a diagnosis of some form of fetal anomaly, she begins to receive close follow up care and supervision. The patient also needs to obtain additional information about the fetal diagnosis and have questions answered. Information can be provided by prenatal consults with a neonatologist or other pediatric specialists that will be involved with the baby’s care after delivery and by other personnel such as nurses, social workers and hospital chaplains. A coordinated plan of care promotes the exchange of information between physicians and all other healthcare professionals involved in care of mother and baby.
Proposed change:
Under the direction of an obstetric geneticist at the Oklahoma University Medical Center, an Interdisciplinary Team was developed. The goal of the team would be to develop a comprehensive plan of care for both mother and baby. All staff that might be involved with planning and coordination of care was invited to the initial meeting. A discussion was held to review the basic format of the proposed monthly meeting. All in attendance agreed to the model.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
A spread sheet was developed to enter each month’s new patients. This data includes basic demographic information, expected date of delivery, parity, fetal diagnosis, maternal issues and the suggested plan of care. At each monthly meeting, each patient that is new to the system is discussed and ultrasound images are provided for review. Also, the upcoming planned deliveries for the month are discussed. This provides time for multi-disciplined professionals to come together and review complex cases in order to plan for the most comprehensive care. The monthly meeting has now been in place for three years and continues to evolve. It has been very successful in providing a venue for multi-disciplined healthcare professionals to be aware of the patients and provide their input into the plan of care.
Implications for nursing practice:
Nursing leadership for Women's Services and Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) attend the meetings. A weekly updated case list is used to inform of patient delivery plans and potential admissions to the NICU. This knowledge can be communicated to staff as needed and used in considering availability of beds, staffing needs, and needs for specialized staff availability for certain deliveries.
Keywords:
Coordination of care, Interdisciplinary team, Collaboration, Optimal outcomes.