There is increasing use of multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) to increase the quality of and access to primary care. The promotion of MDTs in primary care is one of four recent major policy recommendations in Australia. This review sought to understand the impact of MDTs on the quality of primary care, including continuity of care, and the enablers and barriers to implementation. It consolidates the growing evidence of the use of MDTs in primary care to inform policy and practice.

The review showed the models of MDT-care used around the world varied substantially. They ranged from multiple providers working together to care for a patient, to interprofessional teams providing patients the option to see an alternative provider. The introduction of MDTs will require careful planning and implementation to ensure that the potential benefits of MDT are realised and that it does not compromise the quality of primary care.

Key findings

• Analysis showed mixed outcomes from MDTs in primary care, driven by contextual, policy, organisational, professional and patient factors.
• In some cases, MDT strengthened the management of chronic disease. In other cases, MDT reduced continuity of care by fragmenting relational continuity.
• MDT care also impacted access to care, comprehensiveness of care and coordination of care – in some cases positively, and other cases negatively.
• While there may be common preconditions at the systems, organisational, professional and patient level, effective MDT-care was likely to be goal and context specific.