Liability in Interprofessional Care – Nobody or Everybody?

Abstract

Interprofessional care is the integral part of the modern rehabilitation care. Previous researches on organizational behavior have identified that better group structures and processes, rather than the intelligence of individual team members, would provide better outcomes. In Hong Kong, a medical council disciplinary decision was criticised for its “collective liability” concept. In that case, a surgeon was liable for the death of a patient in a rehabilitation hospital caused by errors during nursing care. The existing professional liability was established before the era of interprofessional care. How should we provided integrated care while maintaining clear professional roles?