Multidisciplinary Teams Improve Gastric Cancer Treatment Efficiency at a Large Safety Net Hospital

Background Gastric cancer treatment initiation is a complex process. Inefficiencies in care coordination can lead to significant delays, which are often more prominent at safety net hospitals. Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have been proposed as an effective solution. Methods A retrospective review of sequential gastric cancer patients receiving treatment at Parkland Hospital (Dallas, TX) between 2013 and 2015 was performed before ( n = 50) and after ( n = 50) creation of a MDT and standardized care pathways. Patients undergoing urgent resection were excluded. Time to treatment (TTT) from initial endoscopy to initiation of chemotherapy was evaluated. The number of diagnostic tests performed and treatment variability also were compared. Results Groups were similar in terms of age, sex, stage distribution, tumor location, and type of presentation (outpatient vs. emergency room). Post-intervention, TTT decreased from 84.1 ± 12.3 to 32.5 ± 15.2 days ( p