Experiences of nurse practitioners and medical practitioners working in collaborative practice models in primary healthcare in Australia – a multiple case study using mixed methods

Recruitment of sites occurred from August 2012 to May 2013 through emailing a research invitation to members of nursing and medical organisations, calling potential PHC sites where NPs worked with MPs, and through publicising the study at NP workshops. Throughout the recruitment phase a snowball sampling technique was applied to identify further potential study sites [44] by asking NPs and MPs to promote the study to interested nursing and medical colleagues.

Potential sites were screened against selection criteria (Table 3). Once eligibility was confirmed, a telephone conference was undertaken with potential site staff to identify site characteristics such as practice size, practice type (public or private) location (urban or remote), PHC specialty and type of collaborative arrangement. Sites were purposefully selected considering maximum variation of these site characteristics. Data saturation was ensured by successively recruiting cases to the study. Following data collection at each site, preliminary analysis was initiated before the next site was visited for data collection. Once information and preliminary themes became repetitive, no further sites were recruited to the study. Prior to data collection written informed consent was sought from all study participants.

Data collection was undertaken in three phases involving four data sources. Details about data collection methods and analysis have been reported previously [45] and are summarised here.

Data analysis occurred in several stages. Index scores of scales and demographic data were analysed using descriptive statistics. After consultation with a statistician statistical analysis was limited to descriptive statistics, which is a minor revision to the protocol [45]. Analysis of qualitative data was informed by the thematic analysis approach suggested by Braun and Clarke [49]. QSR International NVivo 10 software was used to assist data management and analysis. Braun and Clarke distinguish ‘data-driven’ (inductive) or ‘theory-driven’ (deductive) coding, which was preferable for this study to generate codes based on participant meaning first and then allow for comparison with the current theoretical models [49].

The inductive approach of qualitative data analysis identified new codes inherent to the participants and sites of this study. To allow comparison of the participants’ views (interviews), the researcher’s observations and documents describing the collaborative practice (practice documents), the three data types were coded separately and collapsed into thematic categories. Thematic categories from interviews and observations were compared through triangulation and summarised in themes. Reasons for differences and commonalities of codes are reported in the narrative of the developed themes. We drew on codes from the document analysis when they were useful to clarify or support themes. In a second step of triangulation, questionnaire results were woven together with themes at the point of data interpretation and are highlighted where they supported or contradicted qualitative findings [50].

A theory-driven and deductive approach of data analysis then assisted with determining how close the data set of this study was to existing international models by comparing the 17 combined dimensions of influence of collaboration [42, 43] (Table 2) with the empirically derived codes and categories in NVivo.

Ethics approval for this study was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Catholic University (No. 2012 207 V). Stringent quality measures were applied to establish credibility and trustworthiness of findings [51]. These included the adherence to a research protocol [45], the use of a research diary, data triangulation, and comparison with existing theoretical frameworks. Potential influences of researchers on the study process were discussed to minimise bias. All authors are health services researchers, three with a nursing background.

High scores on all scales indicated positive perceptions in the descriptive analysis. Median index scores of the three scales showed 1) NP and MP groups strongly believed that collaboration was beneficial for patients; 2) they experienced high levels of collaboration and 3) were highly satisfied with their collaborative relationship (Table 5).

The data revealed a greater variation among MP responses reflected in a wider range for all three scales. Instead of interquartile ranges, the minimum and maximum are presented for all scales to reflect the full range of responses in this small sample.

Results from thematic analysis of interview and non-participant observation data are presented in three main themes.

This theme reports challenges of working in collaborative practice models due to healthcare system structures, policies and also infrastructure at practice level. One of the major constraints to establish and maintain collaborative practice models was the way Medicare reimbursed NPs. While NPs, MPs and PMs valued NPs’ access to Medicare, they critiqued the current reimbursement rates and available MBS items for NPs as insufficient and unfair. Nurse practitioners in private practice can use four professional attendance MBS items for patient consultations and a limited number of diagnostic test items [13]. For example, electrocardiography is a common investigation for NPs caring for cardiac patients, but it would incur the patient a private fee if ordered by the NP rather than the MP. In these cases, care needed to be escalated to the MP for ordering the investigations once the NP completed the initial patient assessment. “Why do I see it not as equal? Because… […] they [MPs] have the capacity to request more investigations than we do. I think, our practice [services that are covered by MBS items] is somewhat restricted by what Medicare says” (NP). Another example refers to ‘Chronic disease management plans’ for a joint approach to patient care that required MPs to sign off on care plans, resulting in reimbursement going to MPs. However, typically the NP spent most of the time with the patient for assessment and planning.

In addition to Medicare policies, the legal determination of collaborative arrangements impacted on collaborative practice between NPs and MPs. In our study, four of five practice settings had a written agreement [52]. In the community centre, no written arrangement existed but the legal determination was fulfilled because the organisation for which the NP worked sub-contracted MPs.

Some NPs and MPs perceived collaborative arrangements as positive because they considered it a safety net, which supported NP practice when a patient scenario required a second opinion or transfer of care through the availability of a MP. “I do find it helpful. I think it’s safe. I think that’s the biggest issue, the fact that you know you’ve always got that backup” (NP). On the other hand, NPs critiqued the legal formalisation of collaboration. They considered it common sense to consult with another health professional when they needed a second opinion. Collaborative arrangements are “a sore point that nurse practitioners fought not to have formal [legally required], because we feel we would refer anyway if we find something outside our scope” (NP). One NP reported that she was unable to establish a NP-led clinic because MPs declined to engage in a collaborative arrangement.

These policies and regulations weakened the NPs’ position as legitimate healthcare providers within the collaborative practice. Difficulties in generating income decreased their chances of finding a practice that was willing to employ them. “In a private GP practice, at this stage, [we] couldn’t make enough money to fund ourselves or make it worthwhile for them [MPs] to fund us” (NP). The NP’s limited ability to contribute to practice income reinforced uncertainty about the financial sustainability of NPs, which may impede the establishment of collaborative practice models because potential loss of income prompted MPs’ concerns. Nurse practitioners reported that they were not entitled to demand their own office because they could not contribute sufficient income to the practice. Consequently, existing healthcare system regulations created a hierarchical, as opposed to balanced, professional relationship and contradicted the definition of ideal collaboration that emphasises equality, shared power and interdependency [53, 54].

At a practice level, a major challenge mentioned by NPs and MPs was a lack of dedicated time to actually collaborate, that is, discuss shared patient cases, which was also identified in the questionnaire. Most participants would have liked time for more face-to-face meetings, but the busyness of the practice did not allow for this.

“We don’t have a system here where there is protected time for us to sit down with the practitioner and be able to communicate the concerns and that sort of thing. It sort of ends up being something in the hallway: ‘Oh by the way, I saw that person and this and that’” (MP).

Interview data highlighted differing perceptions about the importance of face-to-face meetings. At one site a NP was scheduling her time in between home visits according to the availability of the MPs at the practice. She said: “I’ll catch them informally again, I hover (laughs), make myself available, when I know they have a break” (NP). One MP also valued this time of direct exchange but noted: “It just seems to happen that we meet there” (MP). The MP seemed unaware of the significance of this meeting to the NP, not realising that the NP had actively tried to be around to meet her. For the MP the meetings seemed a convenience, for the NP a priority when working together.

Integrating NPs into existing infrastructure posed a challenge. Due to a shortage of rooms some NPs and MPs frequently changed offices and some NPs used MP consulting rooms. Nurse practitioners stored materials and utensils in a box or movable storage trolley to adjust to this situation. One NP had no consulting room allocated within the practice because she worked mainly in nursing homes or visited patients at home. The lack of designated workspace caused uncertainty about her availability amongst the collaborating MPs because she only returned to the practice sporadically and used different locations within the practice to complete administrative work. I observed her working with a laptop on her knees, surrounded by other staff.

9.30 am – Communal area: In a corner is a 1 m ² small desk with computer and printer. The NP wanted to print something there, but it is occupied by someone […] Standing, she is going through her papers, makes phone calls, operating in the middle of the room. There is no privacy (Observation).

In addition to physical integration, interview statements and observations revealed that NPs experienced pressure to find and assert their position within the existing system. Some MPs were sceptical as to whether NP care differed from care provided by MPs. “[Is it] just another way […] of doing something that GPs are already doing?” (MP). Difficulties with integrating a new health professional were also reflected in the NPs’ negative experiences with dismissive MPs, including those not participating in this study or external to the practice setting. Consequently, NPs wanted to prove their worth, for example, one NP reported a patient satisfaction survey she initiated and in which she received very good feedback. That was important for her because “that was something I could demonstrate to the practice manager and the board that what I am doing is worthwhile” (NP). This pressure to physically and professionally integrate was not observed for MPs given their long-standing history as PHC professionals.

The second theme reflects on the team roles of NPs and MPs and how NPs and MPs operationalised their work arrangements with complementary roles. For clarity of reading, this theme is divided into three sub-themes.

Various communication methods were used to make up for the lack of direct interactions between NP and MP including an internal messaging system and informal face-to-face conversations, described as ‘talk in the corridors’ or a ‘chat over coffee’. Nurse practitioners and MPs considered regular meetings as ideal, but in their absence, the spontaneous conversations were considered satisfactory. “It feels informal because it is here in the tea room and in between. But it’s sufficient” (NP). Two of the five sites held planned team meetings on a weekly or fortnightly basis. To enable team meetings and manage the busyness of clinicians, one practice introduced a rule that no patients would be booked over lunchtime and all staff could meet during lunch. “So if you have somewhere where people can sit down and have that meal together or morning tea together or somewhere to sit, that enhances collaboration” (NP). Observations confirmed that communication and lunch breaks were significantly longer and more common where participants had the opportunity to sit down together.

Besides working around practical challenges, individual attitudes towards collaboration were found to have a significant impact on the success of collaboration. Nurse practitioners knew that they had to integrate themselves in a “non-threatening way” (MP). A nurse practitioner stated: “You don’t try to take over. That would be a bad thing. And that would make us very unpopular”. Accordingly NPs developed a strategy of careful negotiation within the MP’s domain of patient care. A NP described that she approached the MP in the practice whose idea of patient care was most consistent with hers in a particular case. Thus she found a way of getting approval for care without offending any of the MPs. “I think, there is a little bit of … I don’t want to say manipulation… umm…a bit of selective choosing (laughs)” (NP). It seemed NPs found a strategy of cautious confidence, which allowed them to make autonomous decisions and appear confident but not over-confident in their behaviour.

Nurse practitioners and MPs agreed that collaboration worked because of their trustful and respectful relationship. Developing trust through positive experiences contributed to diminished MP concerns. “I’m just one of these older GPs who have gone from being totally opposed to the idea of nurse practitioner to being a complete convert” (MP). Nurse practitioners reported that after some time MPs transferred tasks to the NP as a sign of increased trust. “They [MPs] have expanded what they are happy for me to do” (NP).

Commitment of individuals was important. Collaborative practice models in this sample worked because most MPs were willing to take a financial risk by working in collaboration with NPs for the advantage of better patient care. “It is an important part of our practice, so I think, we should do it, even if it’s not a money making thing” (MP). Considering the restrictions through Medicare policy and legislation, MPs as well as NPs were well aware that the collaboration models in the private sector existed because of the willingness of MPs. “Collaboration between nurse practitioners and doctors depends on […] whether the owner of the practice is willing to do that or not” (MP).

A majority of dimensions of the two theoretical models overlapped with the findings in this study (Table 2). Strong evidence of the importance of mutual trust and respect, compatible role perceptions, communicative behaviour and infrastructure for information exchange, shared goals and decision-making for collaboration were identified in both theoretical models [42, 43] and at sites in this study. Likewise formalisation tools such as policies, protocols and agreements, understood as structural factors affecting collaboration, were found in this study and in the earlier models.

Aspects of role enactment were mostly addressed in Corser’s model of nurse-physician interaction [42]. Personality, willingness and personal values as well as traditional role patterns and power symmetry were identified as having a strong influence on the functioning of collaboration in the current study. However, conditions of power symmetry were largely impeded by system structures and to a smaller extent by traditions of professionalisation and traditional gender or role norms as described by Corser [42].

Three dimensions developed by D’Amour et al. were only marginally present at the five sites in our study [43]. First, D’Amour et al. defined connectivity as a connection between individuals and the organisation based on feedback systems, meetings and committees to allow rapid coordination and adjustment of practice [43]. Practice adjustments and opportunities for meetings appeared to be easier to establish at smaller sites where meetings occurred frequently compared to larger sites. However, some participants at large sites and the community centre stated that support from the management level was important for the establishment of the collaborative practice model.

Second, centrality, described as authorities that provide clear directions [43] including professional boards, associations or government institutions, were only of marginal impact in our study. A nurse practitioner expressed her frustration with vague directions by authorities. “I asked the nurses’ board about that [access to PBS] and they weren’t clear” (NP). It is important to note that D’Amour’s Structuration Model was developed in Canada, where ‘health authorities’ govern the provision of healthcare in designated areas [43]. In Australia, a similar approach with local support for PHC institutions, Medicare Locals, were established in 2011 but a review in 2014 stated low functionality of these authorities [58]. In addition, centrality might play a larger role in inter-organisational collaboration, a focus of the Structuration Model but not of our study.

The third dimension, for which only limited evidence was found, is the influence on collaboration through the presence of a leader of collaboration. None of the participants identified a team member with such a position or role. However, as outlined in theme three, the practice manager played an important coordinating and organisational role in some of the collaborative practice models.

Our study identified two additional factors influencing collaboration not included in the two theoretical models. First, the consequences of NP autonomy on role enactment might be a particular problem for NPs and MPs but were not found to be a problem between other professions or organisations [43] or between general nurses and MPs [42], where lines of authority might be clearer. Corser [42] touched on the issue of autonomy with the dimension of power dynamics. Second, fiscal systems influenced the functioning of collaboration. Corser [42] as well as D’Amour and colleagues in their publications [43, 59] acknowledged that economic constraints and resources influence processes of collaboration but did not consider them as an extra dimension in their models.

Financial issues are a significant influence on collaboration in Australia by disadvantaging NPs in collaborative practice. Nurse practitioners receive lower rates of reimbursement than MPs for patient consultations, and only a limited number of Medicare items are available to them [60]. Differences in reimbursements rates for NPs and MPs reported from an economic case study of an Australian general practice corroborate our findings [61]. However, practitioners both in our study and in the USA highly valued NP access to a health insurance scheme as an enabler of collaborative practice models [27, 62, 63].

Study participants critiqued the fee-for-service model as negatively influencing collaborative practice. North American research supports our finding. A survey of 20,710 Canadian MPs showed that MPs working in a fee-for-service model were significantly less likely to collaborate with NPs [64]. An ethnographic study of three PHC teams in the USA identified fee-for-service models as a disincentive for health professionals to discuss mutual patient cases in the absence of a patient because it solely reimburses practitioners for face-to-face consultation time with patients [65]. The insecurity over financial benefits from collaborative practice inhibits supportive MPs from collaborating with a NP. Australian health care reformers missed a chance to learn from countries where NPs operate on a more sustainable level through targeted government initiatives to support team care approaches [27, 66]. For example, initiatives in Canada and the USA included incentive payments for MPs to join healthcare teams and government funded NP positions [67‐69]. Such initiatives foster shared care of patients.

The Australian determination underpinning collaborative arrangements added to the power imbalance between NPs and MPs in collaborative practice models. Nurse practitioners in our sample valued the consultation availability of MPs but questioned the legal determination for two reasons. NPs considered it self-evident that they would consult another health professional if necessary and their choice of work location relied on the agreement of a collaborating MP. Consequently, NPs were in a dependent relationship [70] and disadvantaged in negotiating business terms such as income, leave regulations or payment for administrative support [71]. A literature review about collaborative arrangements in the USA concluded that mandatory collaborative arrangements hindered NP practice in areas of need or remote areas where no MPs are available or willing to enter a collaborative arrangement [72]. A cross-sectional analysis from 2001 to 2008 of 41 USA states showed that restrictive collaborative practice arrangements limited growth of NP numbers by 25 % [73]. Where system-level policies restrict NPs in their choice of practice and force them to practice below their potential, care resources are underutilised [74, 75].

Legal liability can be unclear in team structures [76]. Australian legislation underpinning collaborative arrangements appears to have added to the confusion about such liability [77, 78]. Study participants held diverse views about their accountability for patients who were jointly looked after by an NP and a MP reflecting lack of clarity about such liability. The current determination of Australian collaborative arrangements draws MPs into a commitment of “collaborative” working with a NP with poorly understood implications for practice. Medical practitioners may carry vicarious liability, where they are employers or in some cases practice owners, that is, they may be held accountable for the NP’s negligent action [79]. Thus MPs may be wary about entering collaborative arrangements and providing support for patients they have not seen.

Legal liability may be clearer without the legal requirement of collaborative arrangements [78]. Battaglia proposed complete practice independence for NPs so that “a practicing NP would generally bear the full liability for instances of malpractice arising from care provided by that NP” ([78], p. 1151). Resnick and Bronner emphasise the importance of outlining the scope of practice of NP and MP, communication and referral mechanisms in writing [80]. However, such agreements do not have to be linked to legislation and the current Australian determination fails to clarify legal liability.

Organisational structures contributed to the lack of equality between NPs and MPs in this study. The lack of space for NPs in PHC settings has been identified as a problem in a case study of three PHC sites in Canada [81] and in interviews with 16 NPs practicing in PHC settings in the USA [82]. It appeared MPs were given priority for offices and resources, which researchers described as “structural discounting” ([83], p. 90) of NPs.

Disruptions to existing routines, identified in this study in the form of interruptions to patient consultations and communication flow, were highlighted by Greenhalgh as a challenge for collaborative working [84]. Our findings support those from a Canadian ethnographic study of three multiprofessional PHC teams in which a lack of communal space and clinician time constraints impeded frequent meetings [85]. However, face-to-face meetings have been consistently reported as one of the most important features of collaboration because they guarantee exchange of ideas and information with immediate feedback when needed [65, 86, 87]. Consequently, the “corridor conversations” (NP) and a “chat over a cup of coffee” (MP) became significant routines for information exchange.

The addition of NPs to PHC sites required changes to existing role hierarchies, resulting in the co-existence and blurring of professional roles. A systematic review of studies across all types of healthcare settings reported that the combination of task delegation, substitution and complementarity in NP-MP teams added to the complexity of blurred role boundaries between NPs and MPs [76]. We found that NPs and MPs operationalised collaborative practice with overlapping and complementary roles. Roles overlapped when the NP adopted medical skills in her autonomous patient consultation and they complemented each other in joint patient consultations. The blurring of roles only emerged as a problem when legal and fiscal policies were difficult to apply in clinical practice.

Role theory can help to explain the traditional behaviour of some NPs and MPs. It is assumed that “persons are members of social positions and hold expectations for their own behaviors and those of other persons” ([88], p. 67). In our study, NPs and MPs worked in distinct nursing and medical roles because these were in line with their identity of nursing and medical care, based on “internalized role expectations” ([89], p. 286). Consequently, the identity of MPs can be linked to their socialisation as silo-workers [90]. Canadian researchers also found that MPs rarely consulted with NPs, even after an intervention addressing collaborative working of NP-MP teams in PHC [75]. We assume that one-sided consultation patterns from NPs to MPs in our study can be partially explained by the fact that MPs had not needed communication or collaboration with other health professionals in the past.

For NPs in our study, a strong influence on their role and identity adjustment was based in the way they used their autonomy. Feminist researchers developed the term ‘relational autonomy’, claiming that autonomy is hardly ever absolute but context bound and linked with given structures [91]. Nurse practitioners in our study possessed relational autonomy in the sense that they were entitled to work as autonomous health practitioners within a framework of professional structures, policy restrictions and their individual level of confidence to make autonomous decisions. An example of NPs practicing with relational autonomy relates to those NPs who adopted a level of assertiveness that did not undermine the MPs’ position. Assertiveness and confidence of NPs have been reported as facilitators of collaborative working in a mixed methods study of NPs and MPs in long-term care homes in Canada [47]. In our study, unassertive behaviour, including MP involvement where not strictly required, by otherwise very confident and highly competent NPs, was used as a purposeful strategy by all six NPs to enter existing MP-dominated structures.

Considering the barriers for collaborative practice from existing systems, organisational structures and neglect from government agendas, collaboration between NPs and MPs in our sample appeared to exist through individual relationships and personal experiences. This accords with other studies that identified relationships and the personality of practitioners as significant factors for successful collaboration [82, 87, 92].

Collaborative practice models in the Australian PHC context would not exist without the personal commitment of NPs and MPs. Their willingness and ability to work around system barriers was based on the value they ascribed to their relationship. This was reflected in largely positive perceptions of the collaborative relationship in interviews and the questionnaire. Furthermore, in contrast to the Canadian Structuration model of collaboration [43] Australian PHC collaboration models were a bottom-up approach, driven by individuals who received limited support and governance through government and healthcare system structures as identified in the deductive analysis.

The inclusion of five different sites spread across four Australian states generated a broad perspective on collaboration based on a multi-method dataset. The similarity with other research and theoretical models strengthened the credibility of findings and suggests their transferability within the Australian context of PHC, whilst noting that findings from case study research cannot be directly generalised to the general population of NPs and MPs.

Participating sites had well-established patterns of working together and recruitment of a negative or disconfirming case [36, 44] would have been a valuable addition to the sample. However, while we attempted to include sites with obvious inter-professional challenges, none were willing to participate. The recruitment of well-functioning teams was partly balanced out by participant statements about negative experiences in previous practices.

While this study was conducted in the Australian setting, similarity with international experience suggests that recommendations coming from this study are relevant to health professionals in other countries where NP roles are being implemented.

The influence of existing policies on the success of collaborative practice models needs consideration. Reimbursement structures for NPs have to ensure financial viability of NPs in PHC to increase the motivation for MPs to work in collaboration. For example, NPs should be granted access to a similar range of MBS items currently available for MPs, including procedure-based items (e.g. conducting and interpreting electrocardiography and spirometry, ordering female pelvic ultrasounds and suturing wounds) in addition to time-based consultation items. Further funding for collaborative practice models may come from private health funds if they reimburse patients who use NP care services. In line with trends in the USA, mandatory collaborative arrangements for NPs should be removed from legislation to facilitate autonomous NP practice and to minimise blurring of legal liability.

Improvements in infrastructure and practice level arrangements are recommended to facilitate NP-MP interaction within practice settings. Opportunities for face-to-face meetings should be enhanced because face-to-face conversations were the most valued mode for information exchange. Regular meetings can serve as an occasion to address practical issues between participants, to foster information exchange about mutual patients and increase mutual learning. Where scheduled meetings are not possible, opportunities for informal conversations can be enhanced through communal areas and facilities where this is possible. Practice managers should be utilised for their potential leadership role in fostering collaboration. Nurse practitioners should be given access to space and resources that equal the MP’s access to infrastructure, including office space. Preparatory clarification of scope of practice, consultation and referral mechanisms as well as roles and responsibilities is recommended. It appeared useful for practitioners to put this agreement in writing (on a voluntary basis and not based on legislative requirements) and to address liability of practitioners for different scenarios such as 1) patients seen together; 2) patients seen by only one practitioner but advice was given by another practitioner (by phone, email, face-to-face conversation); and 3) NPs working under vicarious liability, when the employer (MP) may hold some responsibility for the employee (NP).

Most patient consultations occurred in separate sessions affirming that NPs are autonomous healthcare providers. Future research could investigate frameworks within which NPs are able to establish their own businesses. This study showed that the dependence on MPs and low reimbursement rates made it difficult for NPs to establish their own clinics in Australia.