Patient Caring Team

A clinical care team for a given patient consists of the health professionals—physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, other registered nurses, physician assistants, clinical pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals—with the training and skills needed to provide high-quality, coordinated care specific to the patient’s clinical needs and circumstances.

This team-based model requires a new way of thinking about clinical responsibilities and leadership, one that recognizes that different clinicians will assume principal responsibilities for specific elements of a patient’s care as the patient’s needs change; and while the team as a whole must ensure that all elements of care are coordinated for the patient’s benefit.