Table 2 Semi-structured interview illustrative quotes categorized by theme

Theme 1: Data collection

“I think data collection is of the upmost importance. That is number one. And if we can get a better way to record our data as opposed to our paper files then fantastic.”

“The best way really, for collecting this sort of data would be to be filling it out at the MDT.”

“What I have noticed is that people are obsessed with having their own data, I got data through my MDT”

“A lot of MDTs have their own database that they have had for many years but it’s not linked to anything so it’s actually not useful data. Unless you can link it with something and did you use it for anything, what’s the point of collecting data?”

“Any data that we collect should be meaningful. I mean, we collect data all over the shop, but it doesn’t mean to say that we’re getting it fed back to us in the right format…why are we doing audits on patient calls and why are we doing medication audits? It means nothing to them [clinicians] in that format. So I think it’s about just making it [data] meaningful for the clinician.”

“If you can get the data and give them sensible data, you’ll get improvement. But getting the data, and getting the data that - I think it’s going to be really important to get only a few bits of data and get the data that the key stakeholders really want and need. Two types of data: times, time from symptoms to presentation, time from presentation to referral, time from referral to the MDT, time from referral to definitive management or MDT to definitive management. Outcomes, which is probably just length of life at the moment, but if there’s other outcomes as well.”

Theme 2: Environmental factors and the use of health technology in MDT meetings

“It’s been a little bit rocky at the moment. There is some conservatism among some clinicians about how they prefer to do these discussions. It’s going to be a little slow to impose a little bit more order on it but unless we do we can’t improve our MDT process.”

“Part of the problem is there has been a project to try and develop an electronic medical record for the past seven years and there has been lots of problems and setbacks. It hasn’t happened so you’re kind of living between two half worlds and neither record is complete. You’ve got some stuff electronically, some in paper. It can often take you 20 min if you’re seeing a patient to make sure you have all the right information.”

“In the subset of patients who increasingly now are having complex molecular testing where we brought in a modification of the MDT process with some standard data presentation slides and a pre meeting to discuss them. It’s different from what people are used to so even in this very savvy group my hope was that they would see the benefits of having a structured visual supported. Some basic templates where the information is always in the same format, they just get used to seeing that, they can rapidly simulate information. If it works for this molecular data, it would work for the standard patient.”

“we’re big on the electronic, doing things in real time electronically. What I have been advocating when I’m going out there is for those who use Mosaic or whatever to actually have it up on a screen typing in real time in not just free text but in something that can then take that information and do your GP letter, a pro forma GP letter, can do a GP plan, patient letter for you and then can do the onus extract into the registry.”

“I think something integrated [with the MDT] would be good, because I think if it’s integrated and you know what data you’re collecting, and if you can provide feedback to them, you’ll be on a winner. So you know, once a month at the MDT, spend fifteen minutes, get up there and say, look, last month this is what happened with the patients.”

“We can collect a lot more data at the MDT... Once we have the MDT database up and running I would want the clinicians to be more involved in entering data in the meeting. We want the clinician who is presenting it ... One physician finished presenting another physician should be seeing another case and then another clinician can update everything for the MDT database and that would be accurate. Then we just rotate through instead of one-person keeping on talking. That would help a lot I think.”

Theme 3: The impact of technology on organizational processes

“The other thing is, in the MDT, if you haven’t booked it in they won’t have the images there. And it’s so irritating.”