Multidisciplinary team-based primary care: questions for general practice training

Abstract

Multidisciplinary teams delivering person-centred care are a central feature of primary care reforms in Australia and North America. General Practice is a primary care service that prioritises clinical person-centred care. The recent Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report recognised that a person-centred team care approach needs strengthened education and training programs to support multidisciplinary teams in general practice. While the premise of multidisciplinary care is well established, strengthening education and training programs in general practice offers opportunities at the vocational training level and for intra-practice education.

This Education in Practice paper discusses the relevance to contemporary general practice of findings from Tasmanian research projects conducted over the past decade, addressing three questions for general practice training:

1. How can approaches to team-based education be tailored to different general practice settings?
2. What strategies are best for delivering interprofessional training in general practice?
3. How can patients be involved in the process of training and education of collaborative healthcare teams?

The challenges presented by these questions are addressed by drawing from a consensus project on best practice in interprofessional training for collaborative primary healthcare, and from projects using in-person and online education and training. We propose a model that uses the clinical training space as a way of promoting multidisciplinary general practice. The model incorporates online and face-to-face spaces, where primary health professionals, patients, practices/teaching organisations, educators and technology are aligned through facilitation and feedback channels in ways that promote collaborative practice. Tasmania, as an island state with close connections between its university, state public health service and GP training, is well placed to have the strategic conversations about coordinating general practice education and training to meet the need for an integrated primary care workforce.