ARTICLE
Interprofessional practice and natural medicine practitioners
One of the key drivers behind the interprofessional practice agenda is to improve patient safety . And yet , lack of knowledge of complementary medicine is one of the reasons commonly given by patients who fail to disclose their use of natural medicines products and services to their general medical and other health practitioners . 10 Given the high number of Australian adults with chronic disease 24 % ( 1.3 million ) who regularly use natural medicine treatments , most commonly for arthritis and osteoporosis , 11 health practitioners need to have some understanding of how natural medicine products and services might interact with their own services .
Interprofessional practice can occur at a range of levels , from referral networks through to co-management of clients . A workforce survey in 2013 reported that 48 % of natural medicine practitioners occasionally referred clients to general medical practitioners for medical diagnostic tests ( e . g . blood tests , X-rays ), 21 % reported referring frequently and 3 % reported referring very frequently / always . On the other hand , 48 % of respondents reported occasionally seeing clients who were referred to them by other health practitioners ; 21 % reported that they received these referrals frequently , and 3 % reported very frequently / always . Referral rates were high across all disciplines : highest for ingestive medicine practitioners ( 90 %) and registered professionals ( 87 %) and lowest for mind-body medicine practitioners ( 48 %). Respondents were also asked about how frequently they collaborated with another health practitioner to discuss treatment options for a client : 28 % reported never / very rarely or rarely ; 48 % reported occasionally , 21 % reported frequently and 3 % reported very frequently / always collaborating with another health practitioner . Ingestive medicine practitioners ( 90 %) and registered professionals ( 85 %) reported the highest rates of collaboration . 12
A workforce survey in 2013 reported that 48 % of natural medicine practitioners occasionally referred clients to general medical practitioners for medical diagnostic tests ( e . g . blood tests , X-rays ), 21 % reported referring frequently and 3 % reported referring very frequently / always .
Co-management of clients with other health practitioners also occurs , particularly in integrative medicine clinics that are designed to provide both mainstream and medical services to clients . An in-depth study of integrative medicine clinics identified a number of relationships among health practitioners , including relationships where each health practitioner had equal status in contributing to their clients ’ healthcare , and relationships where general medical practitioners acted as the gatekeepers of patient care and took responsibility for the selection of complementary medicine products and services . 13
Implications for natural medicine education
Natural medicine educators are responsible for preparing students to be members of future interprofessional teams . It is likely that students who are trained to work in interprofessional teams will be open to practising in interprofessional teams after graduation . At the very least , students need to understand both their own professional identity and other professionals ’ roles in the health care team . In this way they can understand the similarities and differences between professions . 14
A number of learning approaches are reported in the literature . The WHO Patient Safety Curriculum : Multi Professional Edition 15 suggested exposing students to particular learning activities that further develop their knowledge of principles and practices of patient safety through working with other disciplines . Clinical placements have frequently provided opportunities for interprofessional education and are often established in areas of community need . For example , an interprofessional placement , the ‘ Million Hearts ’ program , involved health care professionals and health sciences faculties and students , who conducted over 20,000 cardiovascular screenings across the USA . 16 At the same time , this program provided an excellent opportunity for health professionals and students to develop their interprofessional capabilities . Co-assessment of patients and case discussions are also popular learning strategies for developing students ’ interprofessional capabilities . 17
Implications for health professional associations
Professional associations also play a role in promoting the interprofessional practice agenda , for example by looking for opportunities to collaborate with professional associations representing other health professionals . This includes co-hosted seminars and invitations to participate on committees to discuss issues of mutual interest , to contribute to benchmarking activities and workforce surveys , and to participate in external course reviews .
Where to from here
A national audit of interprofessional practice conducted for Health Workforce Australia made the following seven
28 | vol27 | no1 | JATMS