Which statement best distinguishes collaboration, consultation, and referral?

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Coordinating care involves distinct interprofessional actions that each play a different role in how professionals work together. Collaboration means professionals communicate and make decisions together with a shared goal for addressing the patient and family’s medical, social, and ethical needs, sharing responsibility for outcomes. Consultation is when one clinician seeks the expertise or direction of another on a diagnosis or treatment plan; the consultant provides guidance, but the requesting clinician maintains responsibility for the ultimate plan and patient care. Referral involves transferring ongoing management of a specific problem to another provider for a defined period, with the receiving clinician taking over that aspect of care. Since each statement describes a valid and different aspect of these processes, all of the above best captures the distinctions.