Rethinking multidisciplinary collaboration

Unencumbered collaboration and multidisciplinary learning supported by a digital tool

When it comes to what is best for patients, success against cancer hinges on the level of multidisciplinary collaboration among stakeholders.

Rethinking multidisciplinary collaboration

Unencumbered collaboration and multidisciplinary learning supported by a digital tool

When it comes to what is best for patients, success against cancer hinges on the level of collaboration among stakeholders.

A collaborative approach to cancer care

Bringing together specialists to aid in decision-making and improve care coordination, tumor board meetings provide numerous benefits in preventing and diagnosing cancers, planning treatment, and evaluating decisions.

An effective tumor board relies on an optimized workflow, from collecting and preparing patient data to documenting treatment plans.

navify digital solutions | multidisciplinary collaboration in cancer care

A new equity among disciplines

Tumor boards convene at institutions around the globe, but within some teams, radiologists have received less attention for their work than their colleagues. Challenged by time and technology in the fast-moving multidisciplinary discussions, they may struggle to locate and display the best images to support their recommendations for treatment.

In navify Tumor Board radiologists can pin images to the single patient case presentation shared by the team and rapidly illustrate the important information that only radiological images show.

The ability for a radiologist to pin images to a tumor board patient presentation upon initial assessment of all pictures enables early collaboration with pathologists and surgeons, even before the team meeting.

After the team meeting, the surgeon can use radiology and pathology images pinned to the patient’s record in navify Tumor Board to confirm his or her cuts.

A consensus on diagnosis and treatment

An international survey of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)1 members showed that physicians frequently change treatment plans based on information discussed during the meeting. Surveyed respondents reported changes in surgery type, cancer staging and pathology findings in breast and colorectal cancer cases. Patients with cancer, especially those with challenging, complex cases, benefit from full team collaboration.

This approach also facilitates the open communication necessary for effective care coordination.2 The opportunity to discuss cases and receive advice are two primary reasons for tumor board participation. The ASCO member survey found:1

  • 89% attend tumor boards to seek advice on making treatment decisions
  • 83% attend to participate in the discussions
  • 20% believe tumor boards always help the make treatment or diagnostic decisions
  • 48% believe tumor boards often help them make decisions

Tumor boards also can validate treatment decisions and build consensus for how to care for future patients.2

In institutions with multiple tumor boards or for specialists working in different locations, a consistent process with a common tool for all meetings can help ensure evidence-based care by eliminating the struggle to efficiently and effectively present data and images from different software systems one by one.

Without leaving the tumor board interface, clinicians can use a patient’s medical history, personal preferences and tumor information to identify clinical practice guidelines, published research and enrolling clinical trials from reputable sources.

Critical information and a focus on important findings dominate physicians’ interaction with the workflow, so they do not have to think about culling data from other sources. They can find all relevant patient data in navify Tumor Board.

Workflow standardization

navify Tumor Board provides a single dashboard and standardized view of all relevant data from disparate sources. Additionally, this cloud-based workflow product may be accessed through any device with a web browser and internet connection.

Clinical decision support apps

Specialist-selected results from navify Publication Search and navify Clinical Trial Match apps* may be pinned to the patient profile as part of the timeline of treatment consideration and overall care.

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Cover image from NAVIFY white paper on the value of virtual tumor boards

The value of virtual multidisciplinary tumor boards

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navify Tumor Board saves time and standardizes workflow at MU Health Care

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  1. El Saghir, N. S., et al. ‘Global Practice and Efficiency of Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards: Results of an American Society of Clinical Oncology International Survey’, Journal of Global Oncology, 1(2), p57-64.
  2. Foster, Tianne J., et al. ‘Effect of Multidisciplinary Case Conferences on Physician Decision Making: Breast Diagnostic Rounds’, Cureus, 8(11).

* Powered by MolecularMatch, Inc.