Improving the process of care: the cost-quality value of interdisciplinary collaboration.

A multidisciplinary group of clinicians and administrators were convened to find innovative ways to contain costs and improve the quality of care on an inpatient orthopedic unit. This group was charged with examining all phases of care and recommending changes. The team proved to be a model of effective, successful collaboration and has enabled ambitious goals to be realized on this unit. The article outlines changes related to preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care and discusses the dynamics of effective interdisciplinary professional collaboration.