Development of a virtual multidisciplinary meeting framework for less common cancers

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Informatics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Less common cancers face significant expertise disparities compared to prevalent malignancies.
• Regional cancer patients often require travel to access specialized multidisciplinary team (MDT) opinions.
• Establishing virtual multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) presents unique logistical and technical challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a framework for developing virtual multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) for less common cancers.
• To address the challenge of providing expert oncological care in underserved geographical areas.
• To facilitate improved patient outcomes through enhanced access to specialized cancer expertise.

Main Methods:

• Development of a structured framework for virtual MDM implementation.
• Identification of key components for successful virtual cancer MDT operation.
• Consideration of technological and collaborative strategies for remote MDM participation.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive framework for establishing virtual less common cancer MDMs has been developed.
• The framework addresses challenges in expertise access and geographical limitations.
• It provides a blueprint for creating sustainable virtual oncology MDTs.

Conclusions:

• Virtual MDMs offer a viable solution to improve expert care access for rare cancer patients.
• The developed framework can guide the establishment of effective virtual multidisciplinary teams.
• This approach has the potential to reduce disparities in cancer care delivery.