Roles in the Collaborative Care Team
The collaborative care team is made up of 3 main roles:
- The obstetric clinician
- The care manager
- The perinatal psychiatrist
Together, these three team members work with the patient to develop and implement a treatment plan according to the patient’s needs and preferences.
The Obstetric Clinician
The obstetric clinician and their staff administer surveys for patients to complete in order to assess for symptoms of perinatal depression and anxiety. These surveys are administered at least twice during pregnancy and again at the postpartum visit.
Should patients require and want medication to treat their symptoms, the obstetric clinician is the primary prescriber of psychiatric medications within the perinatal collaborative care model.
The Care Manager
The care manager (CM) is a behavioral health professional (e.g., a clinical social worker, a psychologist, or a nurse) and is the cornerstone of the collaborative care team. The primary responsibilities of the care manager involve facilitating effective communication between the members of the team, developing a treatment plan, monitoring and assessing symptoms via a patient registry, and providing short-term therapy. The care manager is responsible for obtaining verbal consent from the patient before the patient can participate in the collaborative care model.
Sample Job Description for Care Manager Role
The Perinatal Psychiatrist
The perinatal psychiatric meets weekly with the care manager and an obstetric provider to review all new patients in the collaborative care model and all patients who are not improving with their initial care plan. The psychiatrist recommends stepped care, or adjustments in the care plan, with the goal that all patients reach remission of their symptoms.