Multidisciplinary collaboration as a loosely coupled system: Integrating and blocking professional boundaries with objects

In this paper, the concept of loosely coupled systems is applied to describe multidisciplinary collaboration in healthcare. It is further argued that tools employed in collaborative activities may be regarded as object components of such a system. Drawing on observational studies and interviews of a group of health professionals from different disciplines collaborating on breast cancer, it is argued that differences in use of such objects may either inhibit or encourage cross-boundary collaboration. This effect is influenced by how the meanings of these objects vary between participants in the collaborative interaction. Meaning variation allows for more integration across boundaries, while meaning immutability may block the same boundaries. This finding is important for multidisciplinary contexts, adding new knowledge to the important quest for integrating relationships across professional boundaries.