Multidisciplinary care meeting practices across diverse international settings

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Healthcare Management
• Global Health

Background:

• Multidisciplinary care (MDC) meetings enhance cancer care quality through interdisciplinary communication.
• The Pediatric Oncology Facility Integrated Local Evaluation (PrOFILE) tool assesses MDC meetings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the characteristics of MDC meetings at institutions that completed the PrOFILE tool.
• To identify variations in MDC meeting characteristics across different country income levels.

Main Methods:

• Secondary data analysis of 112 institutions from 23 countries (2019-2021).
• Utilized the abbreviated version of the PrOFILE tool for data collection.
• Descriptive analysis of MDC meeting characteristics stratified by country income level (LIC, LMIC, UMIC, HIC).

Main Results:

• 79% of participating institutions reported having MDC meetings, with significant variation based on income (50% in LICs vs. 100% in HICs).
• MDC meeting frequency differed, with LICs holding weekly meetings and HICs monthly.
• Key specialties were represented, but disparities existed in discussing new cases, patient preferences, and urgent meetings.

Conclusions:

• The existence and components of functional MDC meetings vary by country income.
• While resource distribution impacts some aspects (e.g., test availability), others like patient preference inclusion and urgent meeting capabilities can be optimized universally.
• Optimizing these factors can foster high-quality teamwork and communication in all settings.