To the Editor: Multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) are recognised as crucial to best practice in oncology, and governments have designated MDMs as key priorities in cancer care.1,2 Improvement in overall survival has been promoted as a potential benefit of multidisciplinary care, with little supporting evidence. However, consensus MDM decisions are worthless unless action is subsequently implemented. This retrospective audit aimed to assess whether MDM recommendations were implemented, as an indirect measure of the MDM process on patient outcomes.
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- 1. Achieving best practice cancer care. A guide for implementing multidisciplinary care. Melbourne: Victorian Government Department of Human Services, 2007.
- 2. Manual for cancer services 2004. London: United Kingdom Department of Health, 2004.
- 3. Wright FC, De Vito C, Langer B, Hunter A; Expert Panel on Multidisciplinary Cancer Conference Standards. Multidisciplinary cancer conferences: a systematic review and development of practice standards. Eur J Cancer 2007; 43: 1002-1010. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2007.01.025.
We thank the North Eastern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Service staff for providing administrative support and access to the Austin Health MDM database. Ian Davis is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellowship.
No relevant disclosures.