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Interprofessional Care for Neuromuscular Disease

  • Neuromuscular Disorders (C Fournier, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Neurology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of review

This review aims to delineate interprofessional care models for neuromuscular disease. Evidence regarding both the benefits and barriers to interprofessional neuromuscular care in both inpatient and outpatient settings is presented. Finally, opportunities to improve both access to and quality of care provided by interprofessional team clinics will be discussed.

Recent findings

Although the term “multidisciplinary” is often misapplied to denote any interprofessional team-based care setting, there are important differences in team structure and dynamics in each of the three most common models: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary care. Evidence favors the more integrated interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary models for better patient outcomes and decreased staff burnout. Coordinated interprofessional care results in improved health outcomes, resource utilization, and patient satisfaction for persons with adult and pediatric neuromuscular disease. Distance remains the greatest barrier to specialized team-based care for this population; telehealth technologies may make interprofessional care more accessible to these persons.

Summary

Despite limited evidence for the broader population of persons with neuromuscular disease, consensus guidelines increasingly support this model of care delivery. Further work may help determine effectiveness for other populations of persons with neuromuscular disease and best practices within these team-based models of care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. S-117 RCS, 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA

    Ileana Howard MD & Abigail Potts MS, CCC-SLP

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  1. Ileana Howard MD
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  2. Abigail Potts MS, CCC-SLP
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Correspondence to Ileana Howard MD.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neuromuscular Disorders

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Howard, I., Potts, A. Interprofessional Care for Neuromuscular Disease. Curr Treat Options Neurol 21, 35 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-019-0576-z

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