Date of Award
4-2020
Document Type
Project Paper
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
Program Affiliation
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
First Advisor
Dr. Mary Rivard
Abstract
Communication in health care is essential. Limited communication between primary care and behavioral health providers was identified as a barrier access to care and effective collaborative care of patients seeking behavioral health treatment in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough, Alaska. A one-group pre- and post-test design quality improvement project was created to develop and implement a standardized communication template to facilitate communication and collaboration between behavioral health and primary care providers in the project group. The theory of relational coordination with an emphasis on the mutually reinforcing interaction between relationships and communication served as the theoretical framework for the project. Objectives for the project included each group member using the template at least once during the 12-week implementation period and demonstrating a 10% improvement in relational coordination among group members from the pre- to post-intervention survey. Although the group developed the communication template, only four members utilized the template during the implementation period. Length and time to complete the template and concern about HIPAA compliance were cited as barriers to the use of the template. Relational coordination within the group as a whole improved 11.07% from pre- to post-intervention. Rich qualitative data was obtained incidentally. Significant cultural differences, most notably in understanding the application of HIPAA, were identified between the two provider types. The establishment of relationships was noted by group members to be a desirable first step in improving communication. Communication between these two provider groups remains challenging but is necessary given the vast behavioral health needs of the borough.
Recommended Citation
Matthews, Kathleen J., "Primary Care and Behavioral Health Provider Communication: Strategy for Improvement" (2020). Nursing Capstones. 377.
https://commons.und.edu/nurs-capstones/377