Multidisciplinary Review

Our Multidisciplinary Approach

Multidisciplinary care allows all relevant disciplines to contribute to decisions about the care of patients with cancer. Using a team approach to cancer care ensures there is input from all disciplines, not just one. This provides up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations for effective treatment.

Multidisciplinary care (MDC) is an integrated team approach to health care in which medical and allied healthcare professionals consider all relevant treatment options and collaboratively develop an individual treatment plan for each patient.

In Australia, it is considered a best practice for cancer treatment to be managed through a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach. This means that all relevant health professionals involved in your care meet to discuss the best treatment options for you and work together to:

• Diagnose
• Collaborate
• Make Treatment Recommendations
• Define Treatment Plan
• Execute
• Review each case
• Define Supportive Care Plans (considering the patient's personal preferences).

In this way, you can be assured that your treatment is tailored specifically to you by a team of leading cancer specialists.

Key Review Principles

• Communication among team members regarding treatment planning
• Access to the full range of treatment options for all patients, regardless of geographical remoteness or size of the institution
• Provision of care in accordance with nationally agreed standards

Benefits of Multidisciplinary Care

• Receive care in accordance with national clinical standards and practice guidelines.
• Access to the full range of treatment options for all patients, regardless of geographical remoteness or size of the institution
• Provides up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations for effective treatment.
• All treatment options can be considered, and treatment plans can be tailored for individual patients.
• Referral pathways are more likely to be streamlined, and care is coordinated.
• Security for the patient that a team is managing care
• Increased access to information, particularly about psychosocial and practical support
• Increased patient satisfaction with care

The Multidisciplinary Team

Several specialties meet to discuss your case. The following health professionals may participate in the care of your treatment:

• Surgeon: specialises in surgery, including biopsies
• Pathologist: examines cells, tissue and blood from the body
• Radiologist: examines mammograms, ultrasounds, X-rays and other imaging results and may perform biopsies or help locate cancers before surgery
• Radiation oncologist: specialises in radiotherapy
• Radiation therapist: assists in planning and giving radiotherapy
• Medical oncologist: specialises in cancer drugs such as hormonal therapies, chemotherapy and targeted therapies
• Cancer care nurse: specialises in caring for people with cancer
• General practitioner: provides ongoing care and works with other members of the treatment team
• Physiotherapist, occupational therapist: assist with exercise and pain management
• Plastic surgeon: specialises in reconstruction after surgery

Your surgeon will present your case to the multidisciplinary meeting as your surgeon. There will be other cancer surgeons present. Together they will agree on the best course for your surgical management.

Pathologists

The Pathologist who attends the MDT meeting is there to present the microscopic findings of any cytology or histology findings to assist in the planning of your definitive treatment.

Radiologists

The radiologists use their imaging expertise in the diagnosis and sampling of abnormalities. Like the Pathologist, the Radiologist is a core member of the multidisciplinary cancer team. The Radiologist and Pathologist will interact as the diagnostic part of patient care, with an important aspect of the MDT being the correlation between the Radiologist’s imaging findings and the Pathologist’s histologic or microscopic findings.

Medical Oncologists

A medical oncologist treats cancer using chemotherapy or other medications, such as targeted therapy or immunotherapy. At the meeting, it will be decided whether it is appropriate for you to see a medical oncologist.

Radiation Oncologists

A Radiation Oncologist is a medical specialist doctor trained in radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) to reduce the risk of local or regional cancer recurrence and improve survival. Many patients will require a consultation with a radiation oncologist, which will be discussed at the meeting.

Cancer Care Nurses

Cancer nurses are a key point of contact between oncologists and patients and are important for the continuity of care of cancer patients. The cancer care nurse will attend the meeting to ensure she is fully familiar with your treatment recommendations.

Fee Schedule

To cover the administration costs associated with holding the meeting, we bill Medicare directly and there will be no charge to the patient and no out-of-pocket costs associated with this meeting.