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. 2023 Apr;12(7):8729-8741.
doi: 10.1002/cam4.5608. Epub 2023 Jan 17.

Evaluation of changes to work patterns in multidisciplinary cancer team meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A national mixed-method survey study

Tayana Soukup  1 , David Winters  2 , Kia-Chong Chua  1 , Philip Rowland  3 , Jacqueline Moneke  3 , Ted A Skolarus  4 , Rasiah Bharathan  5 , Leanne Harling  6   7 , Anish Bali  8 , Viren Asher  8 , Tasha Gandamihardja  9 , Nick Sevdalis  1 , James S A Green  2 , Benjamin W Lamb  2   10   11
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Evaluation of changes to work patterns in multidisciplinary cancer team meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A national mixed-method survey study

Tayana Soukup et al. Cancer Med. 2023 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: It is not well understood the overall changes that multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have had to make in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, nor the impact that such changes, in addition to the other challenges faced by MDTs, have had on decision-making, communication, or participation in the context of MDT meetings specifically.

Methods: This was a mixed method, prospective cross-sectional survey study taking place in the United Kingdom between September 2020 and August 2021.

Results: The participants were 423 MDT members. Qualitative findings revealed hybrid working and possibility of virtual attendance as the change introduced because of COVID-19 that MDTs would like to maintain. However, IT-related issues, slower meetings, longer lists and delays were identified as common with improving of the IT infrastructure necessary going forward. In contrast, virtual meetings and increased attendance/availability of clinicians were highlighted as the positive outcomes resulting from the change. Quantitative findings showed significant improvement from before COVID-19 for MDT meeting organisation and logistics (M = 45, SD = 20) compared to the access (M = 50, SD = 12, t(390) = 5.028, p = 0.001), case discussions (M = 50, SD = 14, t(373) = -5.104, p = 0.001), and patient representation (M = 50, SD = 12, t(382) = -4.537, p = 0.001) at MDT meetings.

Discussion: Our study explored the perception of change since COVID-19 among cancer MDTs using mixed methods. While hybrid working was preferred, challenges exist. Significant improvements in the meeting organisation and logistics were reported. Although we found no significant perceived worsening across the four domains investigated, there was an indication in this direction for the case discussions warranting further 'live' assessments of MDT meetings.

Keywords: cancer; cancer multidisciplinary team meetings; decision-making; multidisciplinary teams.

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Conflict of interest statement

BL and TS received funding from Cancer Alliance and Health Education England for training MDTs in assessment and quality improvement methods in the United Kingdom. TS received consultancy fees from Roche Diagnostics. NS is the Director of London Safety & Training Solutions Ltd, which offers training in patient safety, implementation solutions and human factors to healthcare organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. JG is the Director of Green Cross Medical Ltd that developed MDT FIT for use by National Health Service Cancer Teams in the UK. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Boxplots representing distribution of answers across the survey questions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Soukup T, Lamb BW, Arora S, Darzi A, Sevdalis N, Green JSA. Successful strategies in implementing multidisciplinary team working in the care of patients with cancer: an overview and synthesis of the available literature. J Mult Health. 2018;11:49‐61. doi:10.2147/JMDH.S117945 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cancer Research UK . Improving the Effectiveness of Multidisciplinary Team Meetings in Cancer Services. Cancer Research UK; 2017.
    1. National Cancer Action Team . The Characteristics of an Effective Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). National Cancer Action Team; 2010.

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