A Systematic Review of Digital Health Tools for Interdisciplinary Collaboration Across Clinical and Support Services: Bridging the Silos in Modern Healthcare
Abstract
Background: Contemporary care delivery demands seamless collaboration across a wide array of professions, including nurses, anesthetists, laboratory personnel, and operational specialists. Traditional workflows and communications across silos have typically been barriers to this coordination, usually resulting in inefficiencies that might also pose risks to patient safety.
Aim: This review synthesizes the literature on digital health tools from 2015 to 2025 to determine how they have facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration among these key stakeholders.
Methods: It reviewed different technologies, such as EHRs, Health Information Exchanges, CDSSs, telehealth platforms, secure messaging applications, and ERP systems.
Results: Integrated digital platforms greatly enhance the efficiency of communication, facilitate smooth patient care pathways, and extend operational decision-making. EHRs with interdisciplinary portals and HIEs provided a shared mental model for clinical teams, while telehealth and secure messaging facilitated real-time consultation. ERP systems integrated with clinical data were imperative for support services to align operational capacity with the demand for patient care. Several serious challenges remain, such as interoperability issues, very high implementation costs, alert fatigue, and resistance to cultural change.
Conclusion: Digital tools can be powerful enablers of collaboration, but their success is dependent on strategic, human-centered implementation in terms of workflow integration, data standardization, and fostering a shared culture of interdisciplinary care.
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References
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Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Ghadah Abdulmajeed Altamimi, Aishah Ali Alenazi, Fatimah Mohmed Almobark, Ohoud Suliman Alotibi, Noura Ali Albishi, Mona Ali ALbishi, Thara Ali Albishi, Sarra Ali Albishi, Reema Mohammed Salem Alqarni, Maryam Mohammed Salem Algarny, Rakan Ahmad Salem Alammari, Basel Hamid Almuabbadi, Anood Musaeid Salh Alyami, Maryam Abdullah Jaber Algaezani
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