Oncologic multidisciplinary team meetings: evaluation of quality criteria

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop a guideline with quality criteria for an optimal structure and functioning of a multidisciplinary team meeting (MTM), and to assess to what extent the Dutch MTMs complied with these criteria. METHOD: A literature search and expert opinions were used to develop a guideline for optimal MTMs. In order to assess adherence to the guideline, we conducted interviews with MTM chairs and observed general and tumour-specific MTMs in seven hospitals. RESULTS: The new guideline included the following domains: (i) organization of the MTMs; (ii) membership of the MTM and roles and responsibilities of the members; (iii) the meeting itself; and (iv) documentation of meeting-recommendations. We observed good adherence to the quality criteria on the organization of the MTMs. Only the required coordinator/administrative support was often absent, particularly during general MTMs. Regarding membership of MTMs and roles, the recommended average attendance of 100% of the core disciplines was never reached and particularly the role of the chair needs improvement. Regarding the meeting itself, many interruptions took place and relevant information about the diagnoses of the cases was not available in 4-5% of the cases. Concerning the documentation of meeting-recommendations, only in a quarter of the meetings a specific form was used for the documentation. CONCLUSIONS: We found a lot of diversity in the organization of MTMs. The variation in compliance with the quality criteria may decrease with better knowledge about the quality criteria around MTMs and by overcoming practical barriers for the effective organization of MTMs.