Ethical decision-making in interdisciplinary team care.

Most clinical and ethical decisions are made between a patient and his or her physician. However, patients with complex or chronic medical problems are often cared for by a team of professionals from multiple disciplines. Little is known about the process of making ethical decisions between patients and teams of health care providers. The purposes of this article are to examine the process of collective decision-making in interdisciplinary patient care, to present a model for clinical and ethical decision-making, and finally, to discuss ethical decision-making in team care. The benefits and potential risks of interdisciplinary care are discussed and illustrated with case examples. Cleft palate and craniofacial teams are used as a model of interdisciplinary team care.