What are some best practices for presenting best practices of managing hypertension simultaneously with diabetes in the context of the interprofessional team?

Running head: NURSING 1

NURSING 3

Interprofessional Comorbidity Management

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Interprofessional Comorbidity Management

People with Diabetes stand a very high risk of having high blood pressure or hypertension. Coincidentally, people with high blood pressure stand a very high chance of having diabetes complications for instance diabetic eye and kidney problems (WebMD, n.d.). As such, comorbidity of these two conditions is very real and cannot be gainsaid. The paper will look at the best practices of managing hypertension simultaneously with diabetes.

Interprofessional health care is a continuous cooperation of two or more professions or disciplines paired together towards a common goal of improving the health of a patient or client (Carol, n.d.). No one professional knows it all, and hence management of chronic conditions is best done through multilevel working together. This team includes nurses, doctors and other health professionals. For the team to be effective, there has to be role clarity in order to avoid conflicts in duties and responsibilities.

For the above team to work and realise its goals and fulfil its mission, it has to embody the following characteristics.

Shared Goals

The key goal for the whole team is to provide quality patient cantered care. The individual patient’s aim and goal is the common goal shared by each member of the team. For example, a patient presenting with hypertension as a comorbid condition in diabetes may be required by the doctor dealing with hypertension to lose some pounds via dietary change or exercise as a key goal. The whole team then will need to know this so that there will be a concerted effort towards reducing weight by the patient.

Clearly Defined Roles

As the patient management moves from the culture of doctor only to a team effort, there is need to spell out exactly who needs to do what. For instance in our above mentioned example, if weight needs to be measured and recorded every day, there needs to be identified and communicated as to who exactly needs to do that. Failure to this, some roles and duties may fall through the cracks to the detriment of the patient and onset of blame game. Establishment of standing orders comes in handy in this case and/or following protocol.

Shared Knowledge and Skills

This factor could be two fold. It can either involve sharing knowledge with other experts at the same level, or it can be a case of sharing more responsibilities with staff. With the shared responsibilities, proper training for the new roles needs to be done. If it is not done, one will be setting up for failure.

Mutual Respect

This needs to be observed in order for each team member to feel respected in their area in order to enhance their input in the big picture (Safford & Manning, 2012). In terms of best practises of managing hypertension comorbiding with diabetes, scientific research findings recommend lower blood pressure for patients with diabetes as compared to the general population. This will be a key goal for such a patient.

Lifestyle modification like a diet in low salt and exercise have clearly been seen to reduce blood pressure. Weight loss and exercise also improves glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity. Since these intervention may not work with all patients, antihypertensive medication should also be started to go hand in hand with lifestyle modifications.

ACE inhibitors are also known to work in congestive heart failure and diabetic renal disease cases. They have been shown to improve fibrinolysis and endothelial dysfunction, which are impaired in patients with diabetes, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Alpha, Beta and Angiotensin Blockers need also be ministered to this group of patients to manage their condition and improve their health.

In conclusion, managing complex cases has to involve multiple professionals. They need to operate in a manner that is open and cordial. If it is not done, it will lead to a failure.

References Carol. P. H. (n.d.). What is Interprofesssional Health Care? sharinginhealth.ca. Retrieved from www.sharinginhealth.ca/health_care/health_care_professionals/health_care_professionals.html on December 18, 2017. Safford, B. & Manning, C. A. (2012). Six Characteristics of Effective Practice Teams. Family Practice Management. Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2012/0500/p26.html WebMD, (n.d.). Diabetes guide. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.boots.com/diabetes/guide/diabetes-bp