Groups and Teams in Health Care: Communication and Effectiveness

Health care teams have played an important role in patient care for nearly 100 years (Brown, 1982; R. N. Wilson, 1954). The “team imperative” has waxed steadily stronger over the past 40 years owing to the ever increasing complexity of medical technology and treatments, the burgeoning specialization of medical professions, the desire to address the many facets of patient care, the growing power of regulatory and certification agencies, and the move to managed care and integrated health care systems. Rundall and Hetherington (1988) noted that “it is difficult to think of a substantial task within our modern health care service organizations that does not require a team, or work group, for its completion” (p. 188).