It is timely and appropriate to examine
how palliative care interdisciplinary teams provide optimum support for patients
and families. This article will examine the
notion implicit in philosophy that palliative
care interdisciplinary teams are effective
(Cott, 1998) and identify potential
barriers and constraints to effective teamwork.
In particular, a need for careful
examination of how teams function in the
realm of 'psychosocial' care is suggested,
and ways to look beyond rhetoric in
order to facilitate teams to function more
efficiently to provide optimum patient
care are articulated.