Proposals serve many functions in the nursing profession. The primary function of a proposal is to aid in the process of securing funding for a project. A proposal document or a properly-written project plan is an important tool to convince donors and other sources of funding about the viability of a project. However, in addition to facilitating project funding, a proposal documents the design of a project. A proposal outlines the elements of project design, including the key activities as well as the budget, which aid in the planning process. Furthermore, a proposal document can be used as a critical management tool during the process of implementing a project. Besides, the project managers can also be held accountable against the terms presented in a proposal. Therefore, having a good quality proposal is vital for the success of any health-related project. This paper discusses a proposed plan for the implementation of a collaborative model of care, with its expected outcome, a timeline of implementation, and criteria used to measure its success.
Summary of the Proposed Collaborative Model of Care
In recent years, randomized controlled trials have established a comprehensive evidence-base for the collaborative model of care. In a collaborative model of care, care is offered by a collaborative team that is often made up of the primary care provider, the care management staff, and a psychiatric consultant ( Unützer et al., 2013 ). The proposal recommends the adoption of a collaborative model of care for managing care and treatment of individuals for patients with chronic conditions, as well as individuals with depression and other common mental disorders ( Unützer et al., 2013; Ramanuj et al., 2019 ). The collaborative care will be based on the conceptual model for longitudinal care of the aforementioned conditions. The model encompasses four primary components, including a multi-professional approach to patient care, a structured management plan forged to meet the individual needs of the patient in question, a proactive follow-up that delivers evidence-based treatment, and a process to facilitate interprofessional communication (Ramanuj et al., 2019). The primary care provider can either be a family physician, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant. On the other hand, the care management staff will be made up of nurses, clinical social workers, and psychologists. A psychiatrist will be an important member of the collaborative team if the patient being treated has mental health problems.
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The collaborative care program will follow the principles of measurement-based care, treatment-to-target, and stepped care (Ramanuj et al., 2019). Therefore, upon the implementation of the program, each patient’s progress will be monitored closely using validated clinical rating scales. For instance, in the case of a patient suffering from depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) will be employed. Elsewhere, if a patient is suffering from diabetes, his or her progress will be monitored using the Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) laboratory test ( Unützer et al., 2013 ). Treatment will be altered in the event that the treatment being administered does not work. The adjustment on the treatment will be conducted by the primary caregiver with input from relevant specialists. The proposed collaborative model of care will incorporate the following: case finding, the employment of multidisciplinary professional team, continuous care management, a progressive and systematic quality improvement, a self-management support, effective information tracking and exchange across the multiple professional involved, and the linkage of the treatment and management process with the community and social services (Ramanuj et al., 2019). The implementation of the proposed model of care should help the health care sector improve collaboration between the multiple professionals involved in caregiving, and, resultantly, improve the quality of services being received by patients.
Outcomes of the Proposed Care Model
Upon the successful implementation of the proposed care model, the healthcare sector should improve in various aspects. First, collaborative care will facilitate patient-centered team care (Ramanuj et al., 2019). A patient will receive patient-centered care from a dynamic team that employs a shared care plan that targets to meet the patient’s goals. Also, the collaborative care model will result in the development of population-based care. In population-based care, the patients enrolling for the collaborative care will be identified in advance, before they can be screened and grouped. The population-based care promotes better tracking for the purpose of consistency and follow-up on patients’ response to treatment (Ramanuj et al., 2019). The third outcome that is expected from implementing the proposal is the achievement of a measurement-based treatment to target. Upon the implementation of the proposed model, care will be gauged using standard tools with a stepped-care approach being adopted throughout the treatment process. The use of standard tools to measure care, particularly the validated clinical rating scales, helps in harnessing a better working relationship among the various stakeholders involved in the collaborative team. Finally, the successful implementation of a collaborative model of treatment lays the ground for the adoption of evidence-based care. In evidence-based care, treatment is extended based on clinical procedures that are supported by dependable evidence of effectiveness; these clinical procedures ae integrated into daily practice (Ramanuj et al., 2019). The incorporation of evidence-based care upon the implementation of the care model also facilitates the optimum utilization of the professions involved inpatient care due to better communication. In general, the adoption of a collaborative model of care should improve the quality of care delivered, and hence better patient experience and recovery rate.
Implementation Timeline for the Collaborative Model of Care
| Foundational Work |  Prepare for a Clinical Practice Change | Develop Clinical Skills | Launch the Collaborative Model of Care | Continuous Improvement |
Research about the requirements for the implementation of the collaborative care approach, particularly its guiding principle (Haverkamp, 2015). Analyze the existing resources and outline the strengths and weaknesses that may impact the implementation process. Develop a vision statement for the Collaborative model of care with contribution from the primary stakeholders. | Develop tools that will facilitate the smooth launching of the proposed model. The tools will be key in facilitating clinical roles and tasks, as well as program monitoring (Haverkamp, 2015). Develop a comprehensive workflow with inputs from the critical stakeholders. Development of an internal and external communication plan. | Logistics for the training program. Evidence-based training Ensure that the relevant stakeholders, particularly the staff members, are trained to effectively execute tasks including clinical care, consultation, and program monitoring (Haverkamp, 2015). | Complete the planning of all administrative requirements for the launch. Adopt internal and external communication plans. | Monitor the outcomes of the collaborative care program and make an adjustment to meet the target of the vision statement. Conduct follow-up training as required. |
The stakeholders that are relevant in the proposed project include all care team members and the silent partners. The stakeholders will be involved in the implementation through meetings, training, and various communication channels. The care team members include the primary care providers, the care management staff, and consulting psychiatrists (Haverkamp, 2015). The silent partners are the administrators, clinic manager, medical assistants, and the IT staff.
Measures of the Success
Determining the cause-and-effect connection between the collaborative model of care and particular results is difficult. However, in this case, the success of the project will be caused through the impact it causes on patients as well as the collaborating caregivers. The proposed project will be a success if there will be an improvement in the quality of care (Morley et al., 2017). The predictors of quality include the effective transfer of knowledge, sharing of information, and improved decision-making. If the model can demonstrate an improved sharing of evidence-based practice between the professionals involved, the project will be considered a success. Other measures of improved quality of care as a result of collaborative care ae the reduced length of hospital stay, better adherence to the standard tools and drug prescription standards, and improved symptom and psychosocial managements (Morley et al., 2017).
The success of the project will also be gauged based on the staff and organizational benefits. The cost will be used to measure the success of the project, with cost-effectiveness being considered a sign of success (Morley et al., 2017). Other than that, the various instruments will be developed to gauge the effectiveness of adopting a collaborative model of care. The quality of the interprofessional relationship will be used to measure the benefits of the project implementation. Some published tools that will be used to measure success are the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Interprofessional Perception Scale, Modified Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (Morley et al., 2017).
In conclusion, a proposal to adopt a collaborative model of care should aid in the fundraising process and facilitate better implementation and accountability. The proposed model of care entails the use of a multidisciplinary team of caregivers in the treatment and management of chronic conditions and mental illnesses. The implementation of the proposed care model will improve the quality of care delivery in many ways, including the development of patient-centred care, population-based care, and measurement-based treatment, among others. The implementation will start with the completion of various foundational work, before the necessary preparation for the clinical practice change and the development of clinical skills can be actualized. Once the aforementioned tasks are completed, the collaborative care approach can be adopted. Occasional monitoring is essential for continuous improvement. Successful adoption of the proposed model of care will be marked by an improved quality of care for patients, cost-effectiveness for the health institution, and effective collaboration among the professionals involved.
References
Haverkamp, R. (2015). Orientation to collaborative care workflow development. University of Washington.
Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in health care. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Science, 48 (2017), 207-2016.
Ramanuj, P. P., & Pincus, H. A. (2019). Collaborative care: enough of the why; what about the how?. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 215 (4), 573-576.
Unützer, J., Harbin, H., Schoenbaum, M., & Druss, B. (2013). The collaborative care model: An approach for integrating physical and mental health care in Medicaid health homes. Health Home Information Resource Center , 1-13.
