Materials and methods
The study took a mini-ethnographic approach to collect information on
the nature of inter-professional collaboration in a large private
hospital and the complexities therein. The sample hospital is a
750-bedded multispecialty facility centre situated in the metro-city of
Kolkata (India). It is a nationally reputed institute with branches all
over India, and accredited by the Joint Commission International for
Patient Safety and Security. Data was collected from June, 2016 to
Februray,2017. The researchers studied MDTs that were constituted for
terminally ill, geriatric patients during the study period.
Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group
discussions with physicians, nurses, representative members from
hospital administration and other staff. A total forty physicians,
twenty nurses and ten members from hospital management participated
(refer to Table 1: General
information about the respondents ). Research participation was
restricted within professionals, who were part of the sample MDTs.
Besides first-hand data collection, thirty-five case reports were
retrospectively reviewed to understand the quality ‘eolc’ provided to
deceased patients. Triage pattern, treatment trajectories, team
coordination during care transfers and role of patients’ families were
given special emphasis. Additionally, overall observation of the
hospital procedures also provided valuable insights about MDTs.
The study complied with basic ethical principles laid down by the Indian
Council for Medical Research19 and the Declaration of
Helinsky20 regarding obtaining informed consent from
the respondents, maintaining confidentiality of data, and presenting
cases anonymously. Respondents were adequately informed of the aims,
methods, sources of funding, any possible conflicts of interest,
institutional affiliation of the researcher, anticipated benefits and
potential risks of the study before signing the consent form.
Researchers also sought and received ethical clearance from the
concerned hospital authorities to gain access inside the premise.