Term Based Care

Team-based health care is the provision of health services to individuals, families, and/or their communities by at least two health providers who work collaboratively with patients and their caregivers – to the extent preferred by each patient – to accomplish shared goals within and across settings to achieve coordinated, high – quality care. (Naylor MD, Coburn KD, Kurtzman ET, 2010)

Working in a team allows all healthcare providers –doctors, nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, or social workers - to each contribute their unique knowledge and skills. No one person has to be responsible for knowing everything. The EPICC Program is currently focusing on three initiative related to team based care:

• Expanding blood pressure self-monitoring tied with clinical support
• Integrating pharmacists into healthcare teams
• Developing the role of community health workers

Naylor MD, Coburn KD, Kurtzman ET, et al. Inter-professional team-based primary care for chronically ill adults: State of the science. Unpublished white paper presented at the ABIM Foundation meeting to Advance Team-Based Care for the Chronically Ill in Ambulatory Settings. Philadelphia, PA; March 24-25, 2010