Collaborative care

What is collaborative care?

Collaborative care is the collaborative working of health care professionals to ensure patients receive optimal, timely and effective care from the appropriate professional.

The best evidence, including Alberta’s own Toward Optimized Performance clinical practice guidelines on low back pain supports collaboration and interdisciplinary referral, including chiropractic care.

Patient-centered approach

We support patient-centred care. According to Alberta Health, “enhanced collaboration amongst health care providers, individuals, families, caregivers, and the community is an approach which positively impacts service quality and safety, and improves overall health outcomes.”

The Health Quality Council of Alberta’s 2010 “satisfaction and experience with health care services” survey found that among Albertans who received health services, co-ordination of health care efforts is strongly associated with the overall rating of health service quality, contributes to overall satisfaction with health care services received and is associated with their perception of ease of access to health care services.

Referrals

Referrals are not needed to see a chiropractor and treatment is covered by most extended health plans, making chiropractic treatment easily accessible for most Albertans.

Chiropractors can refer to all medical specialists, including orthopedics, neurology, rheumatology, psychiatrists, and obstetricians.

Click here to download the brochure.

Multidisciplinary clinics

Some chiropractors practice in stand-alone clinics where interdisciplinary referrals are made as needed to other health care practitioners in their community. Other chiropractors work in multidisciplinary settings where patient care is team-based. In either practice setting, chiropractors value the collaboration of all health disciplines in the support of best patient care.