Multi-disciplinary team approach in a teaching hospital: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Conducting regular Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings in a tertiary care unit without an oncology department, has posed significant challenges. In addition to that, the dearth of advanced technological applications poses a greater strain on the scarce resources. The Department of Surgery at the Services Hospital, Lahore, has been performing oncological surgeries for some time, but since there was no oncology department, it lacked the MDT approach, which is an essential component in the management of onco-surgeries. Realising the importance of MDT meetings, the Department of Surgery has been conducting MDT meetings for the past seven months, fortnightly and has discussed 118 surgical oncology cases to date. These include malignancies of breast, colorectal, hepatobiliary, upper GI, and other miscellaneous organs. These meetings have resulted in significant improvement in patient management—27.1% of the patients were offered neo-adjuvant therapy, 27.1% underwent upfront surgery, 5.1% received adjuvant therapy, 7.6% were referred for palliative care, and 24.6% were advised further workup. This article explores the global impact of the MDT approach on patient care and medical staff, at the Services Hospital. It also addresses implementation barriers and challenges faced during this phase.

Keywords: Patient care team, Neoplasm, Teaching hospital, Oncology services, Health services accessibility.