Module 5: Leadership & LTC Practice
126 5.2.5 Consultation and Collaboration
Consultation
A consultation is an assessment from a referring health care professional to give advice in this field because of the complexity, seriousness, or obscurity of the case, or because another opinion is requested by the patient/patient’s representative.
Consultation for:
- Treatment recommendations
- Organizational issues
- Quality-improvement and risk-management strategies
The NP in LTC may consult:
- Partner clinicians
- Multidisciplinary team
- Leadership
- Specialists
- Stakeholders
- Know your jurisdictional and college requirements related to consultation
Collaboration
- Communication with clients, healthcare team, stakeholders
- Cross sectoral
- Includes transfer of accountability or care transitions with the clinical team when providing care to the residents
- Includes formal agreements with external health service providers
- Builds partnerships
Collaboration: Care Transitions/ Transfer of Accountability/Handover
- Process of communicating client-specific information from one caregiver to another, or from one team of caregivers to another, to ensure continuity of care and client safety
- Handovers:
- Promote continuity of care
- Provide a retrospective and prospective view of the patient’s situation
- Allow for sharing a plan of action
- Delineate clear responsibilities for pending task
- Include opportunities to seek clarification and ask questions