title: Establishing a framework for building multidisciplinary programs.
abstract: While most providers support the concept of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, challenges exist to the implementation of successful multidisciplinary clinical programs. As patients become more knowledgeable about their disease through research on the Internet, they seek hospital programs that offer multidisciplinary care. At the University of Colorado Hospital, we utilize a formal multidisciplinary approach across a variety of clinical settings, which has been beneficial to patients, providers, and the hospital. We present a reproducible framework to be used as a guide to develop a successful multidisciplinary program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meguid
authors.affiliation: Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Carrie E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Barish H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Edil
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Schulick
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gajdos
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boniface
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Tracey E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Schefter
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: W Thomas
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Purcell
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of GI, Tumor, and Endocrine Surgery, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCarter
keywords: multidisciplinary clinic; patient centered; tumor board