Interprofessional practice and decision support: An organizational framework applied to a mental health setting

Abstract

Decision support as a means to assist people in making healthcare decisions has been discussed extensively in the medical literature. However, the potential for use of decision support and decision aids with people with psychiatric disabilities in order to promote recovery has only begun to be researched and discussed in the mental health literature. Organizational factors that foster interprofessional practice within a decision support environment focused on mental health issues are examined in this paper.

Keywords::

• Decision aids
• decision support
• interprofessional practice
• mental health
• organizations

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Natalie Joseph and Melina Klurfan to the concepts presented in this paper.

Declaration of interest

This paper is based on a report presented at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice’s 2008 Summer Institute on Informed Patient Choice. Funding for this conference was made possible in part by 1R13HS017378-01 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. Funding for this conference was also made possible in part by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM). E. Ozanne’s work on this project was supported in part by grant number MRSG112037 from the American Cancer Society.