Implementing Multidisciplinary, Team-Based Care in an Academic Outpatient Psychiatry Department.

Overview

This column describes the implementation of a multidisciplinary, team-based model of care within an outpatient psychiatry practice at a large urban academic medical center. The authors outline the process by which the innovative team-based care model was selected, funded, and implemented to address long patient wait times, lack of clinical supports, and dissatisfaction of clinical providers. This column also describes the organizational norms that had to be adjusted or sustained to achieve the intended outcomes of reduced intake wait times and financial sustainability, while ensuring that patients continued to receive high-quality care.