•MDT meeting records satisfice but could be improved; treatment options are often not clearly documented.•Although electronic MDTM records are in place, 60% report a need for personal notes.•Unclear ...on the professional role responsible for making record.•Metadata such as the attendance record and contributors to the discussion are identified shortcomings in the record.•Several systems and methods for record keeping make validation, use, and access difficult.
Working collaboratively as a multidisciplinary team in the treatment and care of cancer patients is proven effective in increasing the quality of patient care. A multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting (MDTM) is the main vehicle that facilitates this collaborative work between different healthcare specialities, and an appropriate meeting record is essential to communicate the meeting’s outcomes. There is limited research to date regarding MDTM documentation, and here we report on a sample of healthcare professional’s perspectives on current practices.
A survey, distributed to a purposive snowball sample, is used to collect the perceptions on record-keeping at MDTMs from involved healthcare workers. The survey is descriptive and exploratory in nature and uses closed and open-ended questions offered in both English and Swedish.
With a response of 37 healthcare workers, several commonly understood practices of MDTMs are confirmed, documentation is mostly electronic, encompasses suggested information, and the record is mostly acceptable in quality. The issues of responsibility, registering attendance, and verification of documentation can be improved.
Electronic documentation is a laudable step that shows advancement in MDTM record-keeping. The highlighted quality of the records suggests that MDTM proceedings are reasonably well documented. There remain some important questions, with regard to standardization, centralization, and the responsibility for record-keeping at MDTMs.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
OBJECTIVERestrictions to care access during the pandemic along with the increasing complexity of patients awaiting cardiac surgery provides unique challenges for care delivery. The University of ...Ottawa Heart Institute has developed a novel multidisciplinary digital platform, the Prehab Automated Follow-Up (AFU) Program, which delivers patient/caregiver teaching regarding risk factor mitigation, tracks patient symptoms, and screens for optimization using best practice guidelines. This study was conducted to quantify patient outcomes following initiation of the AFU Program. METHODSPatients awaiting elective cardiac surgery are enrolled and screened via automated telephone conversation, according to best practice guidelines, and a Short Form-12 preoperative assessment. Following this screen, patients are referred for an in-person assessment by an appropriate multidisciplinary team member; namely, a diabetes specialist, physiotherapist, dietitian, smoking cessation counselor, social worker, vocational counselor, and/or psychologist. RESULTSSince initiation in February 2021, the AFU Program has enrolled more than 1237 patients with 508 multidisciplinary team referrals prompted by the AFU screening platform. Before program initiation, there were no multidisciplinary team referrals for preoperative optimization. Compared with patients treated between February 2020 and February 2021, there was a 2.5% decrease in hospital readmission rate within 30 days of surgery, a 0.6-day shorter hospital stay, and a 2.5% decrease in surgical site infection. CONCLUSIONSOur cardiac surgery AFU Program reduced adverse health outcomes for patients by identifying and optimizing risk factors that increased quality of patient care. The AFU Program provides patient/caregiver engagement through educational support and multidisciplinary team counseling.
The challenges of managing interprofessional boundaries within multidisciplinary teams are well known. However, the role of intraprofessional relations in influencing the dynamics of ...interprofessional collaboration remain underexplored. Our qualitative study offers a fine-grained analysis of the interplay between inter- and intraprofessional boundary work among three professional groups in a multidisciplinary team over a period of two years. Our contribution to the literature is threefold. First, we identify various forms of “competitive” and “collaborative” boundary work that may occur simultaneously at both inter- and intraprofessional levels. Second, we reveal the dynamic interplay between inter- and intraprofessional boundary negotiations over time. Third, we theorize relationships between the social position of professional groups, and the uses and consequences of competitive and collaborative boundary work tactics at intra- and interprofessional levels. Specifically, we show how intraprofessional conflict within high-status groups may affect interprofessional dynamics, we reveal how intraprofessional and interprofessional boundaries may be mobilized positively to support collaborative relations, and we show how mobilization within lower-status groups around interprofessional boundary grievances can paradoxically lead to further marginalization.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate the influence of preoperative multidisciplinary team (MDT) care on perioperative management and outcomes of frail patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Frail patients are at increased risk ...for complications and poor functional outcome after cardiac surgery. In these patients, preoperative MDT care may improve outcomes.
Between 2018 and 2021, 1168 patients aged 70 years or older were scheduled for cardiac surgery, of whom 98 (8.4%) frail patients were referred for MDT care. The MDT discussed surgical risk, prehabilitation, and alternative treatment. Outcomes of MDT patients were compared with 183 frail patients (non-MDT group) from a historical study cohort (2015-2017). Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to minimize bias from nonrandom allocation of MDT versus non-MDT care. Outcomes were severe postoperative complications, total days in hospital after 120 days, disability, and health-related quality of life after 120 days.
This study included 281 patients (98 MDT and 183 non-MDT patients). Of the MDT patients, 67 (68%) had open surgery, 21 (21%) underwent minimally invasive procedures, and 10 (10%) received conservative treatment. In the non-MDT group, all patients had open surgery. Fourteen (14%) MDT patients experienced a severe complication versus 42 (23%) non-MDT patients (adjusted relative risk, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.51-0.99). Adjusted total days in hospital after 120 days was 8 days (interquartile range, 3-12 days) versus 11 days (interquartile range, 7-16 days) for MDT and non-MDT patients, respectively (P = .01). There was no difference in disability or health-related quality of life.
Preoperative MDT care for frail patients undergoing cardiac surgery is associated with alterations in surgical management and with a lower risk for severe complications.
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Tumor Boards (TBs) are Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings in which different specialists work together closely sharing clinical decisions in cancer care. The composition is variable, depending on ...the type of tumor discussed. As an organizational tool, MDTs are thought to optimize patient outcomes and to improve care performance. The aim of the study was to perform an umbrella review summarizing the available evidence on the impact of TBs on healthcare outcomes and processes.
Pubmed and Web of Science databases were investigated along with a search through citations. The only study design included was systematic review. Only reviews published after 1997 concerning TBs and performed in hospital settings were considered. Two researchers synthetized the studies and assessed their quality through the AMSTAR2 tool.
Five systematic reviews published between 2008 and 2017 were retrieved. One review was focused on gastrointestinal cancers and included 16 studies; another one was centered on lung cancer and included 16 studies; the remaining three studies considered a wide range of tumors and included 27, 37 and 51 studies each. The main characteristics about format and members and the definition of TBs were collected. The decisions taken during TBs led to changes in diagnosis (probability to receive a more accurate assessment and staging), treatment (usually more appropriate) and survival (not unanimous improvement shown). Other outcomes less highlighted were quality of life, satisfaction and waiting times.
The study showed that the multidisciplinary approach is the best way to deliver the complex care needed by cancer patients; however, it is a challenge that requires organizational and cultural changes and must be led by competent health managers who can improve teamwork within their organizations. Further studies are needed to reinforce existing literature concerning health outcomes. Evidence on the impact of TBs on clinical practices is still lacking for many aspects of cancer care. Further studies should aim to evaluate the impact on survival rates, quality of life and patient satisfaction. Regular studies should be carried out and new process indicators should be defined to assess the impact and the performance of TBs more consistently.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
ESPEN guideline on home parenteral nutrition Pironi, Loris; Boeykens, Kurt; Bozzetti, Federico ...
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland),
June 2020, 2020-06-00, 20200601, Volume:
39, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This guideline will inform physicians, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, caregivers and other home parenteral nutrition (HPN) providers, as well as healthcare administrators and policy makers, about ...appropriate and safe HPN provision. This guideline will also inform patients requiring HPN. The guideline is based on previous published guidelines and provides an update of current evidence and expert opinion; it consists of 71 recommendations that address the indications for HPN, central venous access device (CVAD) and infusion pump, infusion line and CVAD site care, nutritional admixtures, program monitoring and management. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and single clinical trials based on clinical questions were searched according to the PICO format. The evidence was evaluated and used to develop clinical recommendations implementing Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network methodology. The guideline was commissioned and financially supported by ESPEN and members of the guideline group were selected by ESPEN.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Formal multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussions in clinical practice require time and space but have unclear survival benefits for advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients. Our study aimed to ...investigate the long‐term survival of patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer after MDT decision. From June 2017 to June 2019, continuous MDT discussions on advanced gastrointestinal cancer were conducted in 13 medical centers in China. MDT decisions and actual treatment received by patients were prospectively recorded. The primary endpoint was the difference in overall survival (OS) between patients in the MDT decision implementation and nonimplementation groups. The secondary endpoints included the implementation rate of MDT decisions and subgroup survival analysis. A total of 461 MDT decisions of 455 patients were included in our study. The implementation rate of MDT decisions was 85.7%. Previous treatment had an impact on MDT decision‐making. The OS was 24.0 months and 17.0 months in the implementation and nonimplementation groups, respectively. The implementation of MDT decisions significantly reduced the risk of death in multivariate analyses (hazard ratio = 0.518; 95% confidence interval: 0.304‐0.884, P = .016). Subgroup analysis showed a significant difference in survival of patients with colorectal cancer, but not in survival of patients with gastric cancer. The rate of secondary MDT discussion was only 5.6% among patients who the MDT decisions were discontinued due to changes in their condition. MDT discussion can prolong the OS of patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer, especially those with colorectal cancer. Timely scheduling of the subsequent MDT discussion is necessary when the disease condition changes.
What's new?
Although bringing in specialists from different disciplines to discuss and develop treatment recommendations is generally believed to be beneficial to the patient, the survival benefit of implementing multidisciplinary team recommendations in gastrointestinal cancer is unclear. In this first prospective controlled study to investigate the survival of patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer after multidisciplinary team decision, the authors found a significantly longer overall survival in patients in whom multidisciplinary team recommendations were implemented compared to patients in whom the recommendations were not implemented. The findings call for the multidisciplinary team approach to be more strongly advocated and more vigorously implemented in clinical practice.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
While corporate innovation serves as a pivotal competitive advantage for firms, the subtle influence of cognitive biases on the creative process cannot be underestimated. This study aims to explore ...the extent to which unconscious bias limits ideation within multidisciplinary teams. Ethnographic research and survey findings reveal that unconscious bias does influence ideation by curbing creativity, constraining the exploration of novel concepts, and nurturing criticism of ideas that differ from one’s own perspective. Despite the unavoidable presence of unconscious bias, multidisciplinary teams can take proactive measures to recognise, acknowledge, and address it through open communication and managerial coaching.
Pancreatic and periampullary cancers pose significant challenges in oncological care due to their complexity and diagnostic difficulties. Global experiences underscore the crucial role of ...multidisciplinary collaboration and centralized care in improving patient outcomes in this context. Recognizing these challenges, Lombardy, Italy's most populous region, embarked on establishing pancreas units across its territory to enhance clinical outcomes and organizational efficiency. This initiative, driven by a multistakeholder approach involving the Lombardy Welfare Directorate, clinicians, and a patient association, emphasizes the centralization of complex care in high-volume hospitals, adopting a hub-and-spoke model and a multidisciplinary approach. This article outlines the process and criteria set forth for pancreas unit implementation, aiming to provide a structured framework for enhancing pancreatic cancer care. Central to this initiative is the establishment of structured criteria and minimal requirements, not only for surgery but also for other essential components of care, ensuring a comprehensive approach to pancreatic cancer management. The Lombardy model offers a structured framework for enhancing pancreatic cancer care, with potential applicability to other regions and countries seeking to improve their cancer care infrastructure
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Background
Discussing patients with cancer in a multidisciplinary team meeting (MDTM) is customary in cancer care worldwide and requires a significant investment in terms of funding and ...time. Efficient collaboration and communication between healthcare providers in all the specialisms involved is therefore crucial. However, evidence-based criteria that can guarantee high-quality functioning on the part of MDTMs are lacking. In this systematic review, we examine the factors influencing the MDTMs’ efficiency, functioning and quality, and offer recommendations for improvement.
Methods
Relevant studies were identified by searching Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases (01–01-1990 to 09–11-2021), using different descriptions of ‘MDTM’ and ‘neoplasm’ as search terms. Inclusion criteria were: quality of MDTM, functioning of MDTM, framework and execution of MDTM, decision-making process, education, patient advocacy, patient involvement and evaluation tools. Full text assessment was performed by two individual authors and checked by a third author.
Results
Seventy-four articles met the inclusion criteria and five themes were identified: 1) MDTM characteristics and logistics, 2) team culture, 3) decision making, 4) education, and 5) evaluation and data collection. The quality of MDTMs improves when the meeting is scheduled, structured, prepared and attended by all core members, guided by a qualified chairperson and supported by an administrator. An appropriate amount of time per case needs to be established and streamlining of cases (i.e. discussing a predefined selection of cases rather than discussing every case) might be a way to achieve this. Patient centeredness contributes to correct diagnosis and decision making. While physicians are cautious about patients participating in their own MDTM, the majority of patients report feeling better informed without experiencing increased anxiety. Attendance at MDTMs results in closer working relationships between physicians and provides some medico-legal protection. To ensure well-functioning MDTMs in the future, junior physicians should play a prominent role in the decision-making process. Several evaluation tools have been developed to assess the functioning of MDTMs.
Conclusions
MDTMs would benefit from a more structured meeting, attendance of core members and especially the attending physician, streamlining of cases and structured evaluation. Patient centeredness, personal competences of MDTM participants and education are not given sufficient attention.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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