TY - JOUR
T1 - Building the multidisciplinary team for management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
AU - Naugler, Willscott E.
AU - Alsina, Angel E.
AU - Frenette, Catherine T.
AU - Rossaro, Lorenzo
AU - Sellers, Marty T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 AGA Institute.
PY - 2015/5/1
Y1 - 2015/5/1
N2 - Optimal care of the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) necessitates the involvement of multiple providers. Because the patient with HCC often carries 2 conditions with competing mortality risks (cancer and underlying cirrhosis), no single provider is equipped to deal with all of these patients' needs adequately. Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have evolved to facilitate care coordination, reassessments of clinical course, and nimble changes in treatment plans required for this complex group of patients. Providers or sites that elect to manage patients with HCC thus are increasingly aware of the need to build their own MDT or communicate with an established one. The availability of new communication technologies, such as teleconferencing or teleconsultation, offers the possibility of MDT expansion into underserved or rural areas, as well as areas such as correctional facilities. Although the availability of resources for HCC patient care varies from site to site, construction of an MDT is possible in a wide spectrum of clinical practices, and this article suggests a blueprint for assembly of such collaboration. Research strategies are needed to explain how MDTs improve clinical outcomes so that MDTs themselves can be improved.
AB - Optimal care of the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) necessitates the involvement of multiple providers. Because the patient with HCC often carries 2 conditions with competing mortality risks (cancer and underlying cirrhosis), no single provider is equipped to deal with all of these patients' needs adequately. Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have evolved to facilitate care coordination, reassessments of clinical course, and nimble changes in treatment plans required for this complex group of patients. Providers or sites that elect to manage patients with HCC thus are increasingly aware of the need to build their own MDT or communicate with an established one. The availability of new communication technologies, such as teleconferencing or teleconsultation, offers the possibility of MDT expansion into underserved or rural areas, as well as areas such as correctional facilities. Although the availability of resources for HCC patient care varies from site to site, construction of an MDT is possible in a wide spectrum of clinical practices, and this article suggests a blueprint for assembly of such collaboration. Research strategies are needed to explain how MDTs improve clinical outcomes so that MDTs themselves can be improved.
KW - HCC
KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - Liver cancer
KW - Multidisciplinary team
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cgh.2014.03.038
DO - 10.1016/j.cgh.2014.03.038
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24909910
AN - SCOPUS:84927910338
SN - 1542-3565
VL - 13
SP - 827
EP - 835
JO - Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
JF - Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
IS - 5
ER -