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This article presents emerging findings from the first year of a two-year study, which employed ethnographic methods to explore the culture of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and family member involvement in eight North American intensive care units (ICUs). The study utilized a comparative ethnographic approach - gathering observation, interview and documentary data relating to the behaviors and attitudes of healthcare providers and family members across several sites. In total, 504 hours of ICU-based observational data were gathered over a 12-month period in four ICUs based in two US cities. In addition, 56 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a range of ICU staff (e.g. nurses, doctors and pharmacists) and family members. Documentary data (e.g. clinical guidelines and unit policies) were also collected to help develop an insight into how the different sites engaged organizationally with IPC and family member involvement. Directed content analysis enabled the identification and categorization of major themes within the data. An interprofessional conceptual framework was utilized to help frame the coding for the analysis. The preliminary findings presented in this paper illuminate a number of issues related to the nature of IPC and family member involvement within an ICU context. These findings are discussed in relation to the wider interprofessional and health services literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary state-of-the-art healthcare facilities are incorporating technology into their building design to improve communication and patient care. However, technological innovations may also have unintended consequences. This study seeks to better understand how technology influences interprofessional communication within a hospital setting based in the United States. Nine focus groups were conducted including a range of healthcare professions. The focus groups explored practitioners’ experiences working on two floors of a newly designed hospital and included questions about the ways in which technology shaped communication with other healthcare professionals. All focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify themes. Participant responses focused on the electronic medical record, and while some benefits of the electronic medical record were discussed, participants indicated use of the electronic medical record has resulted in a reduction of in-person communication. Different charting approaches resulted in barriers to communication between specialties and reduced confidence that other practitioners had received one’s notes. Limitations in technology—including limited computer availability, documentation complexity, and sluggish sign-in processes—also were identified as barriers to effective and timely communication between practitioners. Given the ways in which technology shapes interprofessional communication, future research should explore how to create standardised electronic medical record use across professions at the optimal level to support communication and patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

More than 75,000 health care professionals worldwide share information and discuss treatments on Twitter, making it one of the most popular and influential social media sites for health. This engaging medium has enormous potential for establishing relationships and disseminating information among physicians, their colleagues, and patients. However, little is known about how physicians navigate Twitter and what challenges and benefits come from using the platform. By conducting in-depth interviews with 17 physicians who interact with Twitter at least once per week, it was revealed that physicians overcome concerns of privacy and time constraints to learn and share new research, connect with colleagues, manage online personas, and develop relationships with patients on a new level that goes beyond the typical office visit. Implications include the possibility of enriched patient-provider relationships due to physicians divulging opinions and personal information in a public forum to minimize established power structures and enable better communication. This exploratory study establishes that Twitter is fertile ground for future research to explore how the medium can influence patient behavior, alter attitudes, and influence communication between patients and providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]