Interprofessional Collaborative Practice for Diabetes Care
This paper presents a change strategy for implementing an interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP) program in a tertiary healthcare facility serving patients with Type II diabetes mellitus, high glucose levels, and acute renal failure. Drawing on evidence from Nagelkerk et al. (2018), the paper demonstrates that structured ICP interventions — including daily team huddles, coordinated patient visits, case presentations, and medication reconciliation — produce statistically significant improvements in key clinical indicators such as HbA1c, blood glucose, cholesterol ratios, and triglyceride levels. The paper also examines how ICP aligns with the Quadruple Aim by improving population health, enhancing patient experience, reducing costs, and supporting provider well-being.
- Introduction and Clinical Context: Clinical need for ICP in tertiary diabetes care
- Evidence for Interprofessional Collaboration in Diabetes Management: Research outcomes supporting ICP intervention design
- Proposed Change Strategy and Implementation: Components of the proposed ICP program
- Resource Requirements and Leadership Support: Staffing, time, and leadership needs for ICP
- Alignment with the Quadruple Aim: ICP mapped to four Quadruple Aim goals
- Conclusion and Evaluation Plan: Measuring effectiveness against pre-intervention benchmarks
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds the change proposal in a specific, well-cited empirical study (Nagelkerk et al., 2018), lending credibility to the intervention design.
- Uses a quantitative data table to illustrate pre- and post-intervention improvements in clinical indicators, making the evidence concrete and persuasive.
- Connects the proposed intervention to the widely recognized Quadruple Aim framework, situating the local change within a broader healthcare quality context.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates evidence-based practice writing by translating peer-reviewed research findings directly into a proposed clinical change strategy. Rather than advocating for a theoretical model in the abstract, the author anchors each component of the intervention — huddles, team visits, medication reconciliation — in outcomes data from an existing study, showing readers exactly why each element is included.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by establishing clinical need and the patient population at risk, then reviews supporting literature and presents quantitative outcome data in tabular form. It proceeds to describe the specific components of the proposed ICP program, addresses practical resource and leadership requirements, and closes by mapping the intervention onto the Quadruple Aim and proposing a measurement plan. The structure follows a standard problem–evidence–solution–evaluation arc common in healthcare improvement proposals.
Introduction and Clinical Context
The professional environment of interest concerns the need for improved interprofessional collaborative practices in a tertiary healthcare facility that routinely treats patients with Type II diabetes mellitus, high glucose levels, and acute renal failure — conditions that can be life-threatening without proper medical care (Li et al., 2020). A growing body of research supports greater interprofessional collaboration because it is an evidence-based approach that promotes accurate and timely diagnoses as well as improved clinical outcomes (Buttaro et al., 2019). In this regard, Nagelkerk et al. (2018) emphasize that "complex, multifaceted medical problems, such as diabetes, often require management from multiple health care professions" (p. 4).
Evidence for Interprofessional Collaboration in Diabetes Management
Nagelkerk et al. (2018) note that individuals suffering from diabetes have twice the risk of death compared to their counterparts across all demographic groups, underscoring the importance of interprofessional collaboration in formulating optimal interventions. The study included two directly relevant research questions: (1) Does the implementation of an interprofessional collaborative program improve diabetic patient health outcomes? and (2) Does implementation of an interprofessional collaborative practice program increase staff and patient satisfaction?
As shown in Table 1 below, implementing an interprofessional collaborative practice intervention proved effective in producing statistically significant improvements in diabetes patients' HbA1c, blood glucose, Total/HDL ratio, and triglyceride levels (Nagelkerk et al., 2018).
Table 1: Pre- and Post-Intervention Clinical Indicators of High-Risk Diabetes Patients
Category | Pre | Post | Difference
A1C | 8.9 | 8.3 | 0.6
Glucose | 199.0 | 172.8 | 26.2
Total/HDL | 4.5 | 4.0 | 0.5
Triglyceride | 196.8 | 165.5 | 31.3
Source: Excerpted from Nagelkerk et al. (2018)
As the comparison of pre- and post-intervention data in Table 1 demonstrates, healthcare practitioners across all disciplines can make substantive contributions to patient and peer well-being when given the opportunity to collaborate effectively.
Proposed Change Strategy and Implementation
The envisioned change strategy will implement an interprofessional collaborative practice intervention similar to the successful approach used by Nagelkerk et al. (2018). This approach includes structured education, daily "huddles" of team members, patient visits by team members, case presentations, and opportunities to reconcile medication issues through improved communication. This strategy has proven effective in improving the clinical outcomes described above for higher-risk patients with diabetes, as well as contributing to higher levels of patient and staff satisfaction (Nagelkerk et al., 2018).
Conclusion and Evaluation Plan
Taken together, the proposed interprofessional collaborative practice program aligns with the Quadruple Aim, addressing the interconnected goals of improving population health, enhancing the patient experience, reducing costs, and promoting the well-being of healthcare providers. The effectiveness of this intervention will be measured through periodic comparison of key clinical indicators — including HbA1c, blood glucose, cholesterol ratios, and triglyceride levels — against pre-intervention benchmarks.
References
Buttaro, T. M., Trybulski, J., Polgar-Bailey, P., & Sandberg-Cook, J. (2019). Primary care e-book: A collaborative practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Fleming, R., & Willgerodt, M. A. (2017). Interprofessional collaborative practice and school nursing: A model for improved health outcomes. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(3), 1.
Li, Z., Lei, X., Xu, B., Wang, S., Gao, T., & Lv, H. (2020). Analysis of risk factors of diabetes peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus and nursing intervention. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 20(6), 1–1.
Nagelkerk, J. et al. (2018). Improving outcomes in adults with diabetes through an interprofessional collaborative practice program. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(1), 4–13.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.