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Victoria Walton,1 Anne Hogden,1 Janet C Long,2 Julie K Johnson,3 David Greenfield1 1Australian Institute of Health Service Management, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW 2015, Australia; 2Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 3Centre for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USACorrespondence: Victoria WaltonAustralian Institute of Health Service Management, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 5052, Alexandria, Sydney NSW 2015, AustraliaTel +61 2 408 417 814Email victoria.walton@utas.edu.auPurpose: Interdisciplinary bedside ward rounds have the capacity to facilitate coordinated interprofessional patient care. To be an effective means of care coordination, clinicians need an explicit understanding of how these rounds contribute to patient care. By identifying benefits and challenges to the effective use of interdisciplinary ward rounds, clinicians create an opportunity to improve interprofessional teamwork, care planning, and coordination of patient care.Methods: A survey was conducted with frontline professionals in two acute care and two rehabilitation wards from a metropolitan teaching hospital. There were 77 participants, representing medical officers, nurses, and allied health clinicians. Questions examined the perceived benefits and challenges of conducting interdisciplinary ward rounds in their units. Survey findings were coded for meaning and then grouped into themes.Results: Benefits revealed a desired care delivery model challenged by the complexities of organizational and professional cultures. The themes of “being on the same page”, “focusing on patients”, and “holistic care planning” underpinned the ideas of collaboration and improved patient-centred care, that is, benefits to patients. Challenges centred on health professionals’ time constraints and the coordination of teams to enable participation in rounds. The themes were more distinct, logistical barriers of “time”, “workforce”, and “care planning”.Conclusion: Overall, clinicians recognise there are greater benefits to IBRs and have a willingness to participate. However, careful consideration is required to introduce and continually achieve the best from IBR as they require changes in organizational context and culture.Keywords: challenges, benefits, coordination, patient focused care, time factors, communication

Anne Hogden,1 Geraldine Foley,2 Robert D Henderson,3 Natalie James,4 Samar M Aoun5 1Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Republic of Ireland; 3Neurology, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, 4Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Service, Communication and Assistive Technology (CAT) Clinic, St Joseph’s Hospital, St Vincent’s Health Network, Sydney, NSW, 5School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, leading to death within an average of 2–3 years. A cure is yet to be found, and a single disease-modifying treatment has had a modest effect in slowing disease progression. Specialized multidisciplinary ALS care has been shown to extend survival and improve patients’ quality of life, by providing coordinated interprofessional care that seeks to address the complex needs of this patient group. This review examines the nature of specialized multidisciplinary care in ALS and draws on a broad range of evidence that has shaped current practice. The authors explain how multidisciplinary ALS care is delivered. The existing models of care, the role of palliative care within multidisciplinary ALS care, and the costs of formal and informal care are examined. Critical issues of ALS care are then discussed in the context of the support rendered by multidisciplinary-based care. The authors situate the patient and family as key stakeholders and decision makers in the multidisciplinary care network. Finally, the current challenges to the delivery of coordinated interprofessional care in ALS are explored, and the future of coordinated interprofessional care for people with ALS and their family caregivers is considered. Keywords: quality of life, interdisciplinary, interprofessional, palliative care, care coordination, motor neuron disease