NEMICS introduced a web-based multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) management program to 25 MDMs across the region from November 2010 as a way to improve efficiency and streamline administration processes. Collected data items consist of a core set of fields that are the same across all tumour streams (based on the consensus data set developed by the ICS IMG in 2010) and tumour specific items. Each health service has an approved health information management form for MDMs. This allows easy frequency reports for MDM forms in the scanned medical record (SMR). Production of electronic summaries by the system has enabled files to be uploaded directly to the SMR, speeding up information transfer. Introducing this system has significantly improved administrative efficiency, enabling significant growth in meetings and patient discussions without additional staff resources.
2013 is the fourth year of data collection and the system now has over 10,000 records of MDM discussions across the NEMICS region, covering nearly 90% of public MDMs. NEMICS has access to good clinical data about patients who are discussed at the MDMs and information about the mechanics of each MDM. These data have been used to provide feedback to members of the multidisciplinary team on their local activity and comparative data across the region for the same tumour stream.
This system has improved the quality of documentation of MDM discussions through regular feedback reports. It has also enabled the automated communication of the MDM recommendations to the patient’s general practitioner. Other uses of data are to support DH performance indicator audit work, assist local teams with their annual audits and as a basis for an ethics approved research project examining the concordance between recommended treatment and actual treatment.
Introducing this administrative system has also provided the basis for a framework that has allowed continuous monitoring and performance improvement for MDMs across the region.