Few would argue with the notion that we work together in palliative care for the benefit of the patient and family/whanau. Some call this collaboration; others refer to it as teamwork, partnerships or just working together. Regardless of what we call it, what is indisputable is that palliative care providers need a way of communicating if they are to manage complex challenges such as limited resources, increasing costs of health care provision, an aging population and an aging health care workforce. If collaboration is to be the way forward as a model of care for palliative care delivery as recommended in government strategies and by the World Health Organisation then it is imperative that health care workers learn to communicate with each other.
Communication strategies have been identified by the World Health Organisation as being a necessary part of the working culture that shapes collaborative practice. Likewise, the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative identifies communication as a vital domain of collaborative practice. Yet communication for collaboration may be more difficult than we think. It is not simply speaking to one another or sending yet another email or fax. The literature to date indicates that collaboration cannot take place without communication so what is needed for adequate communication to occur and what happens when it does not? When there are communication problems collaboration is difficult or simply does not occur. Improving interprofessional communication is important to ensure that patients and families get the very best of care at this critical life stage.