National Cancer Institute
dccps logo
Outcomes Research Branch
Cancer Control and Population Sciences
This page links to some files in Portable Document Format (PDF).

Multidisciplinary Treatment Planning Questionnaire

Background

Multidisciplinary care, which incorporates Multidisciplinary Treatment Planning (MTP), is increasingly being adopted within oncology care settings with the intent of enhancing the quality of care delivered to patients. However, what is not known is its impact on improving patient outcomes and the quality of care being delivered. A targeted review of the literature was conducted to examine the organization and operation of the Multidisciplinary Care (MDC) team structure1. Findings revealed that a variety of implementation models exist within the health care system. However, almost no research exists that describes the various models, examines how cancer specialists work together as clinical teams to provide prospective care planning with the patient, or investigates how the models vary by environmental context and characteristics of the clinical specialties represented on the MDC teams. Hence, the NCI developed a questionnaire to assess multidisciplinary treatment planning within cancer care settings.

Purpose & Scope

The purpose of the Multidisciplinary Treatment Planning questionnaire is to gain insight into the variety of ways in which multidisciplinary treatment planning is structured and implemented for different types of cancers within care delivery organizations. The questionnaire can help to:

  • ascertain the prevalence of MTP teams for cancer;
  • characterize how these teams are defined, organized and function; and
  • describe the variety of MTP structures and processes.

An expert review by community physicians and two rounds of cognitive interviews with Cancer Liaison Physicians at hospitals accredited by the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer were conducted. Questionnaire items include MTP structure and support, case presentation, clinical trials, patient engagement, compensation, and incentives. The instrument is designed to understand MTP structures and processes in a care delivery setting for one type of cancer within each surveyed hospital.

Use

The first use of this questionnaire is by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) to understand multidisciplinary treatment planning within CoC-accredited hospitals. The MTP questionnaire (PDF) is available for use by organizations and individual researchers. Please acknowledge the National Cancer Institute/Multidisciplinary Treatment Planning Questionnaire if you use this instrument in your research.


1: Fennell ML, Das IP, Clauser S, Petrelli N, Salner A. The organization of multidisciplinary care teams: modeling internal and external influences on cancer care quality. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2010;2010(40):72-80. Review. [View Abstract]


Footer begins
Last modified:
01 Jun 2012
Search | Contact Us | Accessibility | Privacy Policy  
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences National Cancer Institute Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health USA.gov: The US government's official web portal