Patient Living With Chronic Illness Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration in a Telehealth Context in Primary Care: Protocol for a Qualitative Descriptive Study

TL;DR

This study explores how patients with chronic illnesses experience teamwork among healthcare providers during telehealth visits in primary care.

Contribution

The study introduces a qualitative journey mapping approach to capture patient perspectives on interprofessional collaboration in telehealth.

Findings

Patients' lived experiences are captured through iterative interviews and journey mapping.

The study identifies barriers and facilitators to interprofessional collaboration in telehealth.

Findings will inform a practical guide to improve telehealth collaboration in primary care.

Abstract

The enhancement of primary care and the prevalence of chronic diseases are key issues worldwide, especially in Canada. The rising incidence of chronic illnesses, now the leading cause of mortality worldwide, creates complex challenges that can compromise the quality of care provided to patients. A lack of communication directly affects relational continuity. These challenges highlight the importance of establishing clear patient pathways within interprofessional teams, ensuring that information is shared efficiently and the continuity of care is coordinated effectively, especially in a telehealth context. Since 2019, telehealth has become an essential tool for patients with chronic disease, although often implemented with no specific infrastructure. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) plays a critical role in the use of telehealth in managing chronic diseases.

This study aims to understand the IPC process as experienced by patients in a telehealth context within primary care, with a focus on patient engagement. More specifically, the study’s objectives are (1) to describe the IPC process in telehealth within primary care from the perspective of patients living with chronic conditions; (2) to identify, in collaboration with patients living with chronic disease, the barriers and facilitating factors in this process; and (3) to understand the engagement of these patients in relation to the IPC process in a telehealth context.

This qualitative research study is based on constructivist research methodology to describe the process of IPC in the telehealth context in primary care from the perspective of patients living with chronic disease. The research team will construct knowledge derived from the interpretation of information that was obtained during the interviews with participants. To meet the study’s objectives, we carried out qualitative journey mapping for data collection. Individual interviews were analyzed iteratively. This method is useful for this research as it visually and collaboratively captures patients’ lived experiences.

Data collection was completed in November 2024. A total of 22 interviews were conducted. The project was funded in March 2022. As of December 2025, all participants had been recruited, and the qualitative data analysis was currently underway. Multiple manuscripts are in development, and the first set of findings was submitted for publication in fall 2025.

The results of this study will support and improve the IPC process in the telehealth context by providing concrete insights into patients’ experiences, identifying gaps and strengths in current collaborative practices, and offering evidence-based recommendations. Journey mapping will help identify potential facilitating factors for improving primary care in the telehealth context according to the patient’s journey. The results will be used to build a practical guide (in phase 2) supporting IPC in the primary care telehealth context.