4.1 Inter- and multidisciplinary collaboration in risk assessment procedures

To understand the importance of inter- and multidisciplinary collaboration in risk assessment, let’s begin with a clinical case discussion.

Case 1

Patient History

George is:

• 73 years old
• 173 cm
• 56 kg (underweight)
• History of:
  • Auto-immune hemolytic anemia (>20 years)
  • Sacroidosis
  • Type 2 diabetes (10 years)

Day 0 – admission

George presents to the emergency department with:

• Increasing fatigue
• Non-exercise-induced dyspnea

You meet him at the emergency unit.

Pause and reflect:
1. How would you assess the pressure ulcer/injury risk in this patient?
2. Which information is essential to determine the appropriate preventive measures?
3. Is your organisation structured to ensure this information is systematically collected?