“This Best Practice Guide has been created by an independent Multi-Disciplinary Team. Novo Nordisk provided sponsorship for the development and production of this guide but has had no input into the content”
Executive Summary
This Best Practice Guide details the opportunities and highlights some considerations about implementing virtual multi-disciplinary (MDT) meetings in diabetes care. Diabetes care had to rapidly evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Inevitably many people with diabetes (PwD) are presenting with more complex needs; the opportunities of bringing specialist MDTs together virtually in the generalist space for rapid referral and diagnostic decision making is apposite. Care around every PwD is an appropriate practice development engaging virtual and telemedicine opportunities to enhance informed decision making and prescribing. Evidence about virtual MDTs and feedback from Health Care Professionals (HCPs) and PwD to create a 360° perspective is detailed in the Best Practice Guide.
This best practice guide has been created by a multidisciplinary team
Environmental
The MDT stakeholder group of HCPs and PwD highlighted the following as being particularly important: the opportunity to improve communication, avoiding delayed referrals, better team working, potential efficiencies and reduced impact on the environment. Suggestions on addressing each are detailed here
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Person with diabetes considerations
No Decision About Me Without Me (DOH, 2012) promotes inclusion of PwD into the consultation. Factors to be taken into account are:
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Service Delivery
In preparing diabetes care going forwards coordinating with the collaborative work of Diabetes UK, ABCD and PCDS (Nagi et al, 2021); the impact of service delivery has been identified as fundamental for future proofing for adaptability. Enabling virtual MDTs across diabetes care is elementary to promote the most complex PwD being seen quickly to improve their outcomes. Considerations to enable adoption of virtual MDTs include the following aspects:
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HCP Considerations
As the increasing use of virtual MDTs will feature within diabetes care the following factors have been identified for your consideration by the MDT team.
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Conclusion
Virtual MDT meetings do have their place but careful consideration in the organisation, and group set ups needs careful deliberation. Considerations need to be applied for the PwD and respecting their voice and decision making in a virtual MDT meeting. As provision of virtual MDTs gain momentum a nationally working group would be a positive step forward to support the training and implementation of this diabetes service provision. This also will support individual Primary Care Networks advocating the introduction and use of virtual MDTs in diabetes care where appropriate.
Here you can download the Best Practice Guide for Group Consultations in Diabetes Care
