Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Multi-disciplinary Teams

IHDP and Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network establish a working group to develop clinical consensus for key data items required for referral to specialist treatment.

In the UK, cancer patients are managed following discussions in multidisciplinary teams (MDT) meetings. A multidisciplinary team (MDT) consists of representatives from each of the disciplines involved in the diagnosis and management of the specific disease. For example, the multidisciplinary team for breast cancer will include a surgeon, nurse, radiologist, pathologist, oncologist, and at times a psychologist or physio too. Each providing specific services to the patient with the aim of ensuring that the patient receives optimum care and support. When a patient’s case is discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting, a decision is made about the next steps or actions required for the patients care.

Although there is a strong evidence base demonstrating that multidisciplinary team working improves cancer patient outcomes¹, there are barriers to their implementation. These include the accessing of complete information for each patient and resource and time constraints in relation to collating and recording the multidisciplinary team decisions for individual patients.

In collaboration with the Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network (SHPBN), IHDP established a working group. This group developed a clinical consensus on the definition of key data items. These key data items are now compulsory for a referral to specialist treatment.  This will optimise access of patients with liver, pancreas, gallbladder or biliary tree cancer to appropriate specialist care in Scotland. Learning from this work could underpin similar developments in other cancer groups.

The HepatoPancreatoBiliary cancer multidisciplinary team is complex and requires access to clinical data from all over Scotland, regardless of health board boundaries. Consequently, if their information requirements can be met this would likely resolve issues common to all cancer multidisciplinary teams. Learning from this work could underpin similar developments in other cancer groups.   

References:

1. Kesson, E.M., Allardice, G.M., George, W.G., Burns, H.J.G., and Morrison, D.S. (2012) Effects of multidisciplinary team working on breast cancer survival: retrospective, comparative, interventional cohort study of 13 722 women. British Medical Journal, 344, e2718. (doi:10.1136/bmj.e2718)

British Medical Journal webpage for cohort study on effects of MDTs.