Intervention

Barriers and facilitators (sometimes called "contextual determinants") are factors that make it harder or easier to implement interdisciplinary care. These factors span multiple levels. Click the buttons on the left to read more about common barriers and facilitators for interdisciplinary care. In addition, view the RASC guides on Contextual Determinants Affecting Implementation and the Inventory of Factors Affecting Successful Implementation and Sustainment (IFASIS) to learn practical ways to assess these constructs.

Interdisciplinary care can provide individuals with frequent, individualized, and evidence-based treatment. However, costs and the development of specific care plans can hinder the wider adoption of interdisciplinary care programs.

Barriers

Highly structured protocols for interdisciplinary care informed by model frameworks may not address individual needs, and payers may be less willing to reimburse for these services as a result.

Interdisciplinary care often carries a higher initial cost to third-party payers, who may be reluctant to cover the cost of these treatments. Similarly, healthcare systems may incur variable start-up costs to establish and integrate the services offered under the interdisciplinary model.

Facilitators

Interdisciplinary teams can benefit from a standardized clinical process to develop individualized, evidence-based treatment recommendations. In one study, this pathway emphasized creating plans that promoted pain self-management, reduced healthcare utilization and healthcare costs, considered patient preferences, and avoided arbitrary limits to care.

In an interdisciplinary treatment program using group treatments, researchers reported that after implementing a rolling admission model, patients reportedly improved their pain outcomes through the development of social support and peer modeling from other patients further along in the treatment.

Interdisciplinary interventions with multiple scheduled follow-up appointments after the initial assessment seem to be the most effective.