Book Review: Developing and Sustaining Interprofessional Health Care: Optimizing patient, Organizational and System Outcomes

Report Review: Developing and Sustaining Interprofessional Health Care: Optimizing patient, Organizational and System Outcomes


Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO)
Toronto, Canada: Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2013.
102 pages, $35.00 (Hardcopy), Free Download Available Online


In December 2013, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) released guidelines as part of the Healthy Work Environments Best Practice Guidelines Project, intended for anyone working within the health-care community. The guideline, titled Developing and Sustaining Interprofessional Health Care: Optimizing patient, Organizational and System Outcomes, was created for workers in the health-care sector to incorporate evidence-based practice into their service delivery practices in order to provide quality outcomes for users, providers, and organizations. This guideline was developed by multiple individual and organizational contributors who collaborated with the advisory committee and development panel members at RNAO.

The guideline is categorized into two major sections: background and recommendations. The background section of the guidelines discuss how to use the resource, background information pertaining to the Healthy Work Environments Best Practice Guidelines Project, the purpose and scope of the guideline, guiding principles and underlying assumptions of the project, information on the types of evidence present within the text, description of the individuals and organizations involved with the project, a quick summary of recommendations, and lastly, a conceptual framework of developing and sustaining interprofessional care. The second section discusses the various recommendations geared toward systematic, organizational and individual levels. Major recommendations are broken down into sub-recommendations, making the guideline detail focused. The section further discusses research gaps and future implications, implementation strategies and ways to monitor and evaluate the guideline. In addition, the guideline provides an extensive appendix which defines the glossary terms, the process that was undertaken to create the guidelines, and the assessment and use of evidence.

The user-friendly guideline is well organized and uses a consistent heading system throughout the document. It uses a simple, yet professionally appealing color scheme to distinguish highlighted topics and information. The organization of the text is exceptionally easy to follow because concepts are well defined and information flows well from one idea to another. Furthermore, the structure is beneficial as it provides readers with clear and concise directions on how to implement and navigate the guideline to optimize outcomes. In order to build credibility around the recommendations provided, the guideline provides a short, yet comprehensive literature review surrounding each individual recommendation. Lastly, the guideline does not simply provide recommendations but it also refers to tools and methods to assess how these recommendations are being implemented and how to evaluate the different outcomes.

Overall, this guideline can be implemented locally and internationally because the recommendations are applicable in various health care settings. The utilization of this guideline can significantly promote interprofessional care within any healthcare system, so this guideline is a recommended read to both health care management and frontline staff. Health care consumers can benefit from reading this guideline because it will provide a more in-depth understanding of the work being done by health care professionals.


Reviewed by:
Sanzana Hossain, BSc. (Hons.), CDMP, RRP
Disability and WSIB Case Management Coordinator, York University


Click on the following link to view this guideline: http://rnao.ca/bpg/guidelines/interprofessional-team-work-healthcare