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What is Collaborative Care?

Collaborative Care occurs when health providers work with:

  • patients/clients/residents and their families
  • people from within their own profession
  • people outside of their profession

Respect for differing perspectives and the acknowledgement that each health professional has an important element to contribute to improving health and outcomes is at the foundation of Collaborative Care. Collaborative Care requires a climate of trust and value, where health providers can comfortably turn to each other to ask questions.

The Winnipeg Health Region has established a set of Guiding Principles that provides a foundation of beliefs for Collaborative Care in the Region. These Principles help to guide individuals, teams, team leaders/managers and senior leaders in their work towards improving Collaborative Care.

Six Team Competencies for Collaborative Care

In February 2010, the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) released a National Interprofessional Competency Framework. The framework outlines six competencies that capture the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be a successful collaborative health care provider.

The documents below provide an overview of the six competencies. You can also read a snapshot of each competency along with a clinical scenario as an example.

We’re pleased to introduce two videos that highlight the six core competencies and how these impact the care people expect. The videos provide an insightful look into how the competencies impact the care people receive. Full of powerful statements about what people need from us, the videos will hopefully inspire you to think about what you can do to improve the collaboration with not only the people you work with, but also the people you care for.

The World Health Organization (WHO) views Collaborative Care as an important global health issue.