INTERPROFESSIONAL
COLLABORATION
COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER
HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
A TOOLKIT FOR REGISTERED MASSAGE THERAPISTS
Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario
Interprofessional Collaboration: Communicating with other Healthcare Professionals
Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario 2
INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION
COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is Interprofessional Collaboration? ................................................................................................. 3
Principles Guiding Interdisciplinary Communication ................................................................................ 3
Collaborating and Communicating with Other Healthcare Professionals .................................................. 3
10 Tips for Building Successful and Effective Collaborative Teams............................................................ 4
Communication Tools .............................................................................................................................. 4
SBAR (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendations) ...................................................... 5
IPASS the BATON (Introduction – Patient – Assessment – Situation – Safety concerns – Background –
Actions – Timing – Ownership – Next).................................................................................................. 6
Letter of Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8
Letter of Progress ................................................................................................................................ 9
Letter of Referral ............................................................................................................................... 10
Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................. 12
Interprofessional Collaboration: Communicating with other Healthcare Professionals
Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario 3
WHAT IS INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION?
Interprofessional collaboration is the development and maintenance of effective and cooperative
working relationships among a variety of healthcare professionals and their shared patients.
Many patients have complex needs that are best served by multiple health professionals working
together. In an environment that supports interprofessional collaboration, there is more likely to be
positive patient outcomes.
PRINCIPLES GUIDING INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNICATION
There are six principles, as defined by the Enhancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Primary Health
Care Initiative, which should guide your collaborations with other health professionals.
1. Patient/Client Engagement. Engage patients/clients in their own health care so that they can
make the health care decisions that are right for them.
2. Population Health Approach. Set priorities based on the health needs present in any given
community.
3. Best Possible Care and Services. Treatment is based on the latest available research and there is
a focus on consistently measuring and evaluating health outcomes.
4. Access. With cooperative teams of varied health professionals, it is more likely that patients
have access to the right practitioner providing the right care at the right time.
5. Trust and Respect. Each health professional comes with unique knowledge, training and
experience, and in order to support collaborative care, it is important to understand and
appreciate the competence of your peers.
6. Effective Communication. In order for collaboration to work, there must be effective
communication, including active listening, with patients, fellow team members, and across the
whole organization.
COLLABORATING AND COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
Step 1: Assess Your Business and Your Goals. Why are you seeking to collaborate with other healthcare
professionals? What benefits do you expect to gain?
Step 2: Determine Your Strategy. Which other healthcare professionals can you contact in your
community? What type of collaboration will best fit you and your practice? Are you seeking
referrals? Do you intend to collaborate more closely and frequently?
Step 3: Approach Your Potential Collaborators. Contact the healthcare professionals you have
identified. How can you, as a massage therapist, help their patients and their practice? Explain
the scope of massage therapy practice. Explain the services you could provide to their patients
specifically.
Step 4: Establish Working Relationships. Keep in regular contact with these other health care
professionals. Provide regular updates on mutual patients. Ensure the relationship remains
mutually beneficial and focused on the needs of your mutual patients.
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10 TIPS FOR BUILDING SUCCESSFUL AND EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIVE TEAMS
1. Focus on the needs of the patient rather than on the individual contributions of the health
professionals.
2. Clarify roles, scopes of practice and responsibilities for care of each team member.
3. Focus on communication with the patient in order to provide effective health care.
4. Be confident when expressing your knowledge and area of expertise, using language
understood by all team members.
5. Actively listen and show interest in the knowledge and opinions of other health professionals.
6. Share any changes in the patient’s condition with all appropriate members of the patient’s circle
of care.
7. Be concise and specific and don’t make assumptions about other health professionals’ area of
expertise.
8. Don’t take anything personally.
9. Provide specific recommendations based on your assessments.
10. Be clear on suggested next steps.
COMMUNICATION TOOLS
There are several structured tools that you can use as your guide in order to provide greater clarity of
communications between providers. The following two sample tools are included in the subsequent
pages of this toolkit.
SBAR (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendations)
IPASS the BATON (Introduction – Patient – Assessment – Situation – Safety Concerns –
Background – Actions – Timing – Ownership – Next)
We have also provided three sample letter templates to be sent to your interprofessional collaborators:
Letter of Introduction
Letter of Progress
Letter of Referral
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SAMPLE COMMUNICATION TOOL
SBAR (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendations)
The SBAR tool provides a framework to improve communication between health care professionals and
other members of the health care team. This tool can be used to share relevant patient information with
other health care providers within the patient’s circle of care.
Situation
Identify yourself, clinic date, etc.
Identify patient name, age, sex, reason for admission
Provide a concise statement of the problem
o Briefly state the problem/issue, what is going on, what they are
experiencing, when it happened and the severity
Background
Pertinent background information related to the situation
o History of the issue
o Current status
o Provide context for recipient
Assessment
Provide findings
o Outline the problem
o Analysis and considerations of options, benefits, and risks
Recommendations
Provide recommendations to correct the problem
o Who is responsible for what actions
o Provide treatment plan
Sample SBAR
Before calling or writing to another member of the health care team, review notes from any other
health professionals and assess the patient.
S
This is (your name) and I am calling/writing about (patient name).
The patient presented with (briefly state the problem – what it is, when it started and the
severity).
B
The reason this patient came to see me was (state reason for admission).
The patient is currently (state current patient status).
A
My assessment revealed: (assessment of what is happening).
R
We have agreed to (state what you would like to see done).
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SAMPLE COMMUNICATION TOOL
IPASS the BATON (Introduction – Patient – Assessment – Situation – Safety Concerns –
Background – Actions – Timing – Ownership – Next)
This tool is used when referring a patient to another health care provider. The use of this tool will ensure
that all pertinent information is included in the communication.
Introduce yourself, your role and your qualifications to the other healthcare
professional. Include the patient in, or inform the patient of, these
communications if possible.
Name, age, condition, background of the patient.
Present your assessment of the patient, including patient’s chief complaint
(severity, duration, frequency), patient’s other symptoms and your overall
clinical impression of the patient.
Patient’s current status including responses to treatment, changes in symptoms,
current complaints.
Any contraindications to massage therapy, concerns about patient responses to
treatment, concerns expressed by the patient about their condition/treatment.
THE
Applicable family history, history with primary presenting symptom, other
conditions/illness that may have an impact, an overview of key elements of the
patient’s health history form.
What actions did you take to address the patient’s complaint? Describe your
treatment plan, treatment approach and desired treatment outcomes.
What elements do you believe should take priority in the patient’s treatment
plan? What is the timing of the treatment plan you’ve suggested (How many
treatments, treatment duration).
Outline the responsibilities of each health professional for the patient’s care. No
one “owns” a patient, but it’s important that the roles and responsibilities of
each health professional are clear.
What do you hope or expect to happen next? What changes do you anticipate in
the patient’s condition? What are your expectations for future communications
with the other health professional?
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Sample IPASS THE BATON
I
My name is (your name) and I am a Registered Massage Therapist at (name of practice or
clinic).
P
I am treating (patient name), a (age) year old (male/female) who has a history of (relevant
health history) and came to me with (primary complaint).
A
My assessment revealed (summarize assessment of the patient). In addition to (primary
complaint) the patient is also experiencing (any additional complaints). My clinical impression
of the patient is (state clinical impression of the patient's condition based on your
assessment).
S
After (number) of treatments over (duration), the patient has experienced (any changes in
patient symptoms). Currently, the patient has indicated that (indicate patient's current
description of their condition).
S
The patient has presented with (insert contraindication) contraindications to massage therapy
treatment. I am concerned that (state your concerns about the patient's treatment progress).
THE
B
The patient has been experiencing (primary symptom) for (amount of time). They also have a
family history of (relevant family health history) and the patient has indicated (anything else
relevant on their health history form).
A
I proposed a treatment plan of (explain your treatment plan). This approach was agreed upon
and the desired outcomes were (desired outcomes).
T
I proposed (number) of treatments over (time period), after which we would reassess. After
(time period), the patient (state actual outcome).
O
I would like to work with you in the treatment of (patient name). I believe that including
(health profession) in the treatment will be able to help this patient achieve the desired
outcomes.
N
I hope to work with you and (patient name). I believe that a combination of massage therapy
and (health profession) will allow (patient name) to achieve (his/her) goals of (list desired
outcomes). I look forward to discussing (patient’s name) progress with (frequency) updates. I
look forward to working with you.
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SAMPLE LETTER TEMPLATE
Letter of Introduction
This sample letter template can be personalized and sent to other health care professionals in your area
to introduce yourself and begin a collaborative relationship.
Hello (Name of health professional you are contacting),
My name is (your name) and I am a Registered Massage Therapist practicing in your community. I am
writing to introduce myself and tell you about the work I do so that we may work together for the
benefit of our mutual patients.
Massage therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and
prevention of physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissues and joints by manipulation to develop,
maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function, or relieve pain. It is my intention to use massage
therapy as an essential support for the patients’ health care plan and will provide quality care to our
mutual patients.
My practice has a focus in:
(Use this section to outline areas of focus in your practice or patient populations that are of
particular interest to you, e.g. sports, geriatric, pregnancy, headaches, etc. Include any particular
continuing education courses you would like to emphasize, as well as certifications in other
modalities such as ultrasound or acupuncture).
Recent research on the effectiveness of massage therapy for (area of focus outlined previously) suggests
(cite this research and summarize its results).
I also work with a variety of musculoskeletal dysfunctions and create a customized, outcomes-driven
treatment plan for each patient to address their health needs. Massage therapy can be a beneficial
treatment option for patients suffering from (list 2-3 conditions that can be treated with massage
therapy, based on your interests and/or the other health professional with whom you are
communicating).
Please contact me if you would like to discuss any of this information in depth, or if you are looking to
refer your patients to a professional, dedicated Registered Massage Therapist committed to providing
high quality health care.
(Your name), RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
(Phone number)
(Email address)
Interprofessional Collaboration: Communicating with other Healthcare Professionals
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SAMPLE LETTER TEMPLATE
Letter of Progress
This sample letter template can be used to reach out to a healthcare professional who has referred a
patient to you for care.
Dear (Name of health professional who referred to you),
Thank you for referring (patient name) for treatment of (state patient’s primary complaint). (Patient
name) has initiated treatment with me, and the goal of the treatment is to (state treatment goal(s))
after (state brief summary of treatment plan) is completed.
My assessment of the patient has found (summarize the results of your assessment), and after (number)
of treatments, the patient has (state progress).
I look forward to continuing to work with you to provide high-quality health care to (patient name) and
other patients in the future.
Sincerely,
(Your name), RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
Interprofessional Collaboration: Communicating with other Healthcare Professionals
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SAMPLE LETTER TEMPLATE
Letter of Referral
This sample letter template can be used when referring a patient to another health care provider.
Hello (name of health professional you are contacting),
My name is (your name) and I am a Registered Massage Therapist. I am writing to refer one of my
patients, (patient name), to you for (reason for referral).
The patient presented with (state your understanding of the patient’s problem briefly, stating what it is,
when it started, and how severe it is). The reason the patient came to see me was (state patient’s initial
complaint).
My assessment of the patient revealed (state a brief summary of your assessment of the patient). We
agreed to (state basic outline of your treatment plan). After (insert number) of treatments, the patient is
currently (state results of any current treatment).
I am referring this patient because (state reasons for referral). Please find all pertinent information on
the attached massage therapy referral form. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Best wishes,
(Your Name), RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
(Phone number)
(Email address)
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Massage Therapy Referral Form
Date:
Registered Massage Therapist:
Address:
Phone Number:
Patient Information:
Name:
Date of Birth:
Address:
City:
Prov:
Postal Code:
Telephone:
Email:
Reason for Referral:
Pain
Injury
Post-Operation Rehabilitation
Reduced Range of Motion
Stress
Reduced Mobility and Function
Pregnancy
Relaxation
Other
Referring Health Professional Information:
Name:
Profession:
Address:
City:
Prov:
Postal Code:
Telephone:
Email:
Signature:
Date:
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. (2007). CHSRF Synthesis: Interprofessional
Collaboration and Quality Primary Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.cfhi-
fcass.ca/Migrated/PDF/ResearchReports/CommissionedResearch/SynthesisReport_E_rev4_FINAL.pdf
Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. (2010). A National Interprofessional Competency
Framework. Retrieved from: https://www.cihc.ca/files/CIHC_IPCompetencies_Feb1210.pdf
Canadian Medical Association. (2007). Putting Patients First: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care, A
Discussion Paper. Retrieved from:
https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/surgery/documents/CollaborativeCareBackgrounderRevised.pdf
Enabling Collaboration in Primary & Mental Health Care & Addictions through Interprofessional Care &
Education (EnHANCE) Ontario Project. (2010). Healthcare Provider's Practice Toolkit. Retrieved from:
http://www.ipe.utoronto.ca/download/281/ENHANCE%20Providers%20Practice%20Toolkit.pdf
The Enhancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Primary Health Care (EICP) Initiative. (2005). The
Principles and Framework for Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Primary Health Care. Retrieved from:
http://www.cfpc.ca/uploadedFiles/Resources/Resource_Items/Health_Professionals/EICP-
Principles_Framework_05.pdf