Book excerpt: The health care of a growing older adult population is a crucial issue, and one of increasing concern and cost. This text explores the health system's effect on health care and professional practice on societal, institutional, and health team levels. It also clarifies models of disciplinary collaboration, and the contributions of the interdisciplinary model. It relates clinical and non-clinical disciplines and facilitates change toward a more synergistic and effective health system. This book addresses its key issues in two ways: First, it explores the present health care system and how it shapes the health care that older adults receive and the practices of their health professionals. Second, it explores five models of collaboration among health disciplines and how they differ in terms of mutual understanding, extent of collaboration, overlap and flexibility of roles, and openness to incorporating knowledge and skills from one another. This text aims to help health professionals, policy makers, and citizens understand the health system, how it shapes the health care they receive and can provide, and how to improve it. It also introduces clinicians and non-clinicians to one another's responsibilities and functions so that they can develop a more synergistic and harmonious health system.