ICT use and multidisciplinary healthcare teams in the age of e-health

This paper explores ICTs in the medical field specifically in the Multidisciplinary teams (MDTMs) in healthcare settings. The discussion offers benefits and disadvantages of ICTs along with implications for teams’ communication and interaction. The paper also provides a few formidable challenges facing MTDMs while offering suggestions on how to overcome them in an attempt to fully experience and utilize technologies in an effective manner. Finally the paper presents areas for future research given the fact that ICT use in MTDMs will only continue to grow as e-health becomes the norm in patients care and healthcare delivery. In an attempt to accomplish these goals, Retchin’s (2008) conceptual framework for inter-professional and co-managed care will be used. Retchin’s framework considers the impact of temporality, urgency of care, and structure of authority. Specifically, this framework focuses on how information communication technologies can impact overall patient health care and delivery. In conclusion, the author provides guidelines and recommendations for how physicians and other health practitioners can use technologies to work with each other are provided.