Using digital communication tools to improve interprofessional collaboration and satisfaction in a student-run free clinic.

Background: Interprofessional collaboration can improve the quality of care in complex health conditions often seen in underserved populations. Communication is key to effective collaboration, and digital communication tools can enhance information sharing, collaboration, and satisfaction between professionals, especially when teams are distanced.

Local Problem: In a semirural student-run free clinic that provides care to uninsured and underinsured patients with multifaceted health issues, there is a gap in communication and collaboration across interprofessional teams because of the frequent rotation of various staff, part-time hours, and electronic health record (EHR) function and interoperability limitations.

Methods: The aim of this nurse practitioner-led quality improvement project was to determine whether implementing digital communication tools could enhance communication and improve provider collaboration and satisfaction during clinical decision-making among the several interprofessional teams at the student-run free clinic.

Interventions: Digital communication tools were implemented in a two-part intervention: (1) virtual case conferences to discuss patient care plans and (2) an EHR-linked tool to document the care plans.

Results: Survey evaluation across six virtual case conferences found above-average ratings for collaboration, satisfaction, and usability of the EHR-linked tool. There was a 15.78% improvement in global collaboration from the first to third conference, with a sustained improvement of 11.49%. Satisfaction improved by 4.62% from the first to the fourth conference.

Conclusion: Digital communication tools can facilitate efficient communication and collaboration among staff while providing a more streamlined approach to patient care. These technologies can be useful in similar settings, especially when teams are distanced.