P058 Improving efficiency of skin cancer multidisciplinary team meetings in the context of increasing workload and hybrid working: transitioning from static documentation to a live digital workspace

Abstract

Skin cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings are under increasing pressure due to rising skin cancer incidence and the widespread adoption of virtual and hybrid working. Over recent years, the annual number of patients discussed at the skin cancer MDT has increased substantially, rising from approximately 750 to over 1600 within 4 years. This increase occurred without a corresponding expansion in protected MDT meeting time. MDT documentation has often remained fragmented across static documents, shared drives and email chains, limiting real-time updates and increasing preparation time. The aim of this study was to improve the efficiency of skin cancer MDT meetings in the context of increasing workload and fixed MDT time through service improvement measures, including streamlining criteria for patient discussion and transitioning from static documentation to a live digital workspace. A dedicated Microsoft Teams channel was established as a centralized digital workspace for the skin cancer MDT. Structured areas hosted weekly MDT patient lists, guidelines, staging resources and external documentation. Role-based permissions enabled MDT members, including contributors from other trusts and specialties, to add and update the live patients list, view MDT outcomes and provide input as needed with immediate visibility across the MDT members. Simultaneously, the criteria for MDT discussions were reviewed and streamlined to prioritize cases that required multidisciplinary input. The combined approach supported management of a substantially increased MDT workload within existing meeting time. Preparation time was reduced, reliance on email communication decreased, and handling of last-minute clinical updates improved. Streamlining of cases supported more focused MDT discussions, while the live digital workspace enabled real-time collaborative updating. In the setting of rising workload, fixed MDT time and hybrid working, a combined approach incorporating streamlined MDT case selection and a live digital workspace improved MDT efficiency and collaborative working. This model is scalable and may be applicable to other MDTs and clinical specialties.