Objective To develop and implement virtual interactive multidisciplinary cancer tumor boards (VTBs), created throughtelemedicine links between the University of California, Davis Cancer Center and community-based cancer care providers. Thegoal of this project was to facilitate communication among community and academic cancer specialists.
Materials and methods Four geographically remote sites were selected to participate with established disease-specific tumorboards of the UC Davis Cancer Center. Telemedicine links were created using dedicated T1 lines, and PolyCom HDX 9000 was used by the center for teleconference hosting. Participants were then surveyed on their perception of the benefit of VTBs.
Results The results across disease-specific virtual tumor boards show that most of the participants reported that the right amountof clinical information on the cases was presented and that new information was discussed that helped providers manage thecare of the patients.
Conclusions Teleconferencing of disease-specific tumor boards allowed providers in a geographically remote group ofproviders to make prospective, case-based treatment decisions that increased their knowledge of treatment options and facilitatedtheir decision making. This transfer of knowledge and experience speeds up the dissemination of rapidly evolving cancer care,which could lead to higher quality patient outcomes.
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