Aim The aim of the study was to examine registered nurses’ (RNs) experiences of collaboration in the community health care and psychiatric inpatient care systems. Background RNs in one area in the west of Sweden have indicated the need for collaborative routines between the community health care and psychiatric inpatient care systems. Method Qualitative content analysis of focus group interviews. Results RNs felt the web-based health-care communication programme was a major obstacle to the development of a collaboration plan. The poor collaboration between RNs was due to the absence of knowledge about the duties of each nursing team. Conclusion The findings contribute to the understanding of the barriers to collaboration between RNs in community health care and psychiatric inpatient care, and highlight the need for nurse managers to ensure well-functioning routines.