Please respond to discussion below using APA 7th edition, 3 references dated less than 4 years, and 1 interactive question

Collaboration among healthcare providers is crucial to ensure that patients are provided safe, efficient, and high-quality patient care (Wei et al., 2020). I have viewed multiple instances of collaboration among my preceptor and her fellow employees. One instance of collaboration that I have viewed involved a 14-year-old, female, patient that presented to the office with the complaint of bug bites that caused concern for infection. The patient and the patient’s mother reported that the bug bites had occurred around 5 days prior and had become larger in size. The mother has been using OTC antihistamine cream and witch hazel for the bites. My preceptor asked if the patient had been scratching the bites, to which the patient denied. There were multiple bug bites on the patient’s bilateral legs that varied in size. One of the largest bites was around 2.5 cm. The bite was not blanching with palpation. This concerned my preceptor since non-blanching bites usually occur with itching and since the patient reported no itching, there was concern for possible Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP). With Henoch-Schonlein purpura, some of the body’s small blood vessels become inflamed (Mayo Clinic, 2021).  This can cause bleeding in the skin, abdomen, and kidneys (Mayo Clinic, 2021). The most common characteristics of HSP involves a non-blanching rash that commonly affects the lower limbs of children aged 3-15 years (Wilkinson, 2019). My preceptor requested that a fellow provider exam the bug bite for a second perspective. The other provider believed that HSP was not the cause of the rash and advised for the patient to continue to monitor the sites and continue the use of OTC antihistamine cream or witch hazel. 

Barriers to collaboration that I have observed in all my clinical rotations was the lack of time that providers have with each patient encounter. In the pediatric primary care setting, most patients are only allotted a 20–30-minute time slots for their appointment. This lack of time can make it difficult for a provider to educate and collaborate on different treatment options for their patients.

In my opinion, in the health care field, multiple brains are far superior to one. One medical provider will never possess the intensive knowledge of all the possible diseases and conditions that a patient may encounter. Additionally, one medical provider will not have knowledge of all the potential resources that are available to a patient specific to their health care needs. This is the reason for collaboration being so essential in the health care system. Lack of collaboration could lead to misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, medication errors, patient dissatisfaction, and injury or death (Stewart, 2018). Even if a provider may not agree with another provider’s viewpoint, it is important to respect their knowledge and their opinion. There will be times when another provider’s input could be an intervention that would significantly benefit a patient.