Employing interprofessional health teams to meet meso-level challenges: a short report

ABSTRACT

This paper shares a report of how one New Zealand District Health Board (DHB) employed interprofessional health project teams to deliver system-wide health improvements and solve its immediate demand for additional hospital beds. CM Health provides health and disability services to approximately 512,000 people in its district. With increasing patient demand and no opportunity to increase capacity, CM Health needed a fast solution for its bed shortage. The Health Board set a goal to reduce the pressure on Middlemore Hospital by giving back to the community 20,000 well and healthy days over two years. The interprofessional health project teams identified best practices through 11 key workstreams. Over the two year period, an estimated 23,060 bed days (the difference between actual bed day usage and the predicted growth) were saved. This case demonstrates how interprofessional health teams can help Health Boards solve complex challenges and achieve sustainable change across their organizations.

KEYWORDS:

• Micro-meso-macro
• interprofessional health
• collaborative problem solving
• health board

Declaration of interest

The author was on the board of Directors at Counties Manukau District Health Board at the time the data for this study was collected.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lyn Murphy

Lyn Murphy is a senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. She has an extensive community service history, including Local Body and District Health Board directorships. With a diverse academic background in occupational therapy, psychology, management, health economics, and accounting, Lyn brings a unique perspective to her transdisciplinary research. Lyn has lectured in both Health and Environmental Science and Business Faculties.