Obstacles to Sustaining Cancer Care Multidisciplinary Team Meetings: An Australian Survey

Our aim is to further understand the process, participation and operations of cancer mu ltidiscip linary team meet ings in Australia based on the experience and knowledge of participants. Our objective was also to identify obstacles to effective and sustainable mu ltidiscip linary team meet ings, particularly how informat ion and communication technology could assist in overcoming these obstacles. We used an online nationwide survey applying a convenience sampling method. While part icipants in cancer care in Australia believe mult idisciplinary team meetings represent best practice cancer care both now and in the future, major obstacles to the sustainability and effectiveness of the model include increased workload and lack o f support including financial, ad ministrative and technological. A nu mber of ripp le effects of mult idisciplinary team meeting imp lementations threaten the sustainability of this best practice model. We do not believe that these are failures of the model but rather obstacles that can be overcome through the implementation of reco mmendations that are well worth the effort required. Whilst these obstacles fall into a number of categories, each with potentially unique solutions, improvements in technological support are certainly seen as a key part o f the suite of solutions, along with better funding support for participants and more efforts towards improved meeting governance.