National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)

pdf (105kb) Practical information about claiming the MBS item for multidisciplinary care introduced in 2006.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.nbocc.org.au/download-document/mdcc-information-about-the-new-mbs-items-for-multidisciplinary-cancer-care

National Health Service (UK) Cancer Services Collaborative Improvement Partnership

The purpose of this Multidisciplinary Team Resource Guide is to provide some practical advice to be used by clinical teams who are setting up or already running an MDT meeting. The Guide puts forward 12 questions based upon the requirements of the Manual of Cancer Standards and offers as answers some examples of service improvement case studies, resources and possible options to be considered.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

UK

http://www.ebc-indevelopment.co.uk/mdt/intro.htm

NHS Modernisation Agency

pdf (301kb) Guide for improving communication between clinicians in cancer care. Contains a pro-forma template for communications within a multidisciplinary team.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.improvement.nhs.uk/cancer/

Cancer and Palliative Care, Department of Human Services,Victoria

pdf (264kb). This toolkit was written to assist the development of multidisciplinary teams in all tumour streams. The documents included in this toolkit are not intended to be prescriptive, but rather to prompt thought about the elements of best practice in multidisciplinary care. The toolkit will assist in: developing team meeting protocols and establishing team practice; surveying existing meetings and ascertaining what might be necessary for newly forming teams; understanding how local multidisciplinary team meeting guidelines and protocols might appear and what they could contain; measuring the team’s performance against the guidelines and protocols and developing or improving a multidisciplinary meeting agenda.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/cancer/docs/ics/meet_toolkit.pdf

Cancer and Palliative Care, Department of Human Services,Victoria

pdf (468kb). This guide provides information on the implementation of multidisciplinary care. Contents include: key principles of multidisciplinary care, what is practically required to implement multidisciplinary care and what are the medico-legal implications of multidisciplinary care in an Australian context.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/cancer/docs/mdcare/multidisciplinarypolicy0702.pdf

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)

pdf (1.94mb) A report that outlines the medico-legal implications of multidisciplinary care in an Australian setting. The recommendations are based on a workshop of national experts conducted by the NBOCC.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.nbocc.org.au/health-professionals/clinical-best-practice/multidisciplinary-care

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)

pdf (282kb). 2006 Report based on forums conducted nationwide in regards to the implementation of multidisciplinary care. Provides insight into the barriers to implementation of a multidisciplinary approach to cancer management in Australia and also demonstrates a range of creative models being used to implement a team approach to cancer care across a range of service settings.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.nbocc.org.au/download-document/mdr-making-multidisciplinary-cancer-care-a-reality

Peter Mac Cancer Centre

Information for medical professionals about the various services offered and the vital role played in the multidisciplinary team by Allied Health carers for cancer patients at different stages of their journey; which may begin at diagnosis and treatment and continue intermittently as required to survivorship and palliative care. A brief overview of the following Allied Heath disciplines at Peter Mac are:

• Speech Pathology
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Nutrition
• Social Work
• Music Therapy
• Psycho-Oncology
• Pastoral Care

Website - information

Health professionals

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.petermac.org/HealthProfessionals_AlliedHealth

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)

pdf (3.4mb) Final report of a 3-year National Demonstration Project on the definition, benefits and implementation of multidisciplinary care in Australia.

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.nbocc.org.au/resources/documents/MDC_multidisciplinaryproject.pdf

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)

pdf (445kb). Follow up study to the National Demonstration Project in breast cancer

Website - information

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.nbocc.org.au/download-document/mss-sustainability-of-multidisciplinary-cancer-care-mdc

Medical Journal of Australia

For women with early breast cancer, multidisciplinary care has the potential to reduce mortality, improve quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. In Australia, the diversity of healthcare delivery settings and types of care means that a single model of multidisciplinary care may not be appropriate. The "Principles of multidisciplinary care" were developed to provide a flexible framework for the provision of multidisciplinary care in Australia.

The Principles emphasise five key elements: the team, communication, access to the full range of therapies, standards of care and involvement of the woman. This flexible, principle-based approach to multidisciplinary care is unique. The Principles have the potential to be applied to other cancers and other chronic diseases.

Journal article

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_10_171103/zor10160_fm.html

Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA) and The Cancer Council Australia

Outlines a plan to improve cancer treatment outcomes for rural and remote patients through the establishment of a network of regional cancer centres of excellence (RCCEs) in order to:

• substantially reduce the distance rural and remote cancer patients must travel to receive multidisciplinary cancer care in a capital city
• provide a considerable return on investments in radiotherapy equipment in regional centres by complementing costly (in capital outlays) radiation oncology services with additional oncology and allied health services
• contribute to ongoing enhancements in regional cancer care through stronger links between regional centres and major teaching hospitals, access to clinical trials and tissue banks and involvement in research programs
• operate as relay points for supporting remote services and communities, providing mentoring and referral links for rarer cancers and providing a template for setting up future centres in regional areas with similar populations that currently have no radiotherapy capacity
• foster an overall culture of medical excellence in local communities through improved recruitment and retention of specialised medical staff and by providing a platform for the introduction of diagnostic and other hi-tech imaging and medical services throughout regional Australia

Web based PDF report

Multidisciplinary

Publicly available - no restrictions

Free of charge

Australia

http://www.cosa.org.au/File/Reports/RegionalCancerCentreofExcellencedocument.pdf