Interprofessional collaborative practice and law : a reflective analysis of 14 regulation structures

Abstract

Background: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is a key element of an efficienthealthcare system. Are healthcare systems structured to facilitate IPC?

Methods and findings: Fourteen jurisdictions were chosen and researched usinglegal and social sciences databases. Generally, there was a lack of understandingof the legal principles in literature on policy and IPC. That aside, every jurisdic-tion had acts and regulation specific to health professions. There were numerouspathways to professional regulation and no clear consensus. Regarding IPC pres-ence in legal text, there were two main integration pathways: professional-basedand organization-based approaches.

Conclusion: Although the practice of IPC is important, its presence in regulationis still discrete. If the aim is to strengthen IPC, there must be more socio-legalresearch to properly address and inform policymakers.