Supporting multidisciplinary staff meetings for guideline-based breast cancer management: a study with OncoDoc2

In order to reduce practice variations and offer cancer patients the best treatments according to reference guidelines, therapeutic decisions have to be taken, in France, by "multidisciplinary staff meetings'' (MSMs) as patient-specific care plans which are then implemented by cancer specialists. OncoDoc2 is a CDSS implementing CancerEst guidelines, a "local reference guideline'', on breast cancer management. The system has been assessed in a pragmatic before/after study. The intervention consisted in the routine use of OncoDoc2 during MSMs of Tenon hospital. The MSM decision compliance rate with the reference guideline was significantly higher in the after period, increasing from 79% to 93%. MSM decision analysis showed that missing steps in treatment plans were the main cause of noncompliance during the before period. This cause was drastically reduced in the after period.