| 62 Theme 2) The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration Healthcare providers acknowledged the added value of good interdisciplinary collaboration as diagnosing and providing care was often considered a complex process. They expressed their wishes for a more cooperative relationship between different specialists and an overview of all types of specialists available to facilitate connection between different services. Quantitative data underlined the added value of interdisciplinary collaboration as a tool to connect the diagnostic process to post-diagnostic support. Interdisciplinary collaboration to diagnose and manage people with dementia was highly valued (>90% agree for all three groups, table 5). According to Table 5, the Dx and Dx+Pds groups ranked their satisfaction with interdisciplinary collaboration higher than the Pds group. I work closely with the doctor, and also with the occupational therapist, cause the occupational therapist will do a lot of the testing and will kind of help me know in which area does the patient needs some support to be in place. Like, you know, if they have memory problems it could affect their medication management, it could affect the stove, different things, so, kind of work closely with the OT and also with the doctor as far as what the recommendations are and what they need for support (Participant in Canada) Despite its importance, healthcare providers reported struggling with interdisciplinary collaboration. It was not always clear who had what responsibility, hindering effective collaboration. Healthcare providers felt that the information flow between healthcare providers could be enhanced, especially regarding referrals. Some healthcare providers felt they received only brief or incomplete information from referring specialists and critiqued the often late timing of these referrals. Quantitative data revealed that all three groups frequently referred patients for diagnosis or management (>65% agree for all three groups, table 5). However, the Dx group felt less informed about referral procedures to various support services compared to the Pds and Dx+Pds groups. You know I think GPs have a very difficult time because they only see a patient for a quarter of an hour or half an hour and they have to form a view about cognition amongst lots of other things and so sometimes you get, sometimes mischievous referrals you know people who are clearly not impaired and they’re burdened with a cognitive assessment so I guess at least you can least give them some baseline information (Participant in Australia)
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