Group dynamics in telemedicine-delivered and standard multidisciplinary team meetings: results from the TELEMAM randomised trial

We compared breast cancer professional's perceptions of group dynamics during standard face-to-face and telemedicine-delivered multidisciplinary team meetings. Staff perceptions were measured by a Group Behaviour Inventory (GBI) consisting of 35 positive statements in 10 group behaviour sub scales: physical resources, knowledge resources, shared goals, climate, discussion norms, discussion behaviours, decision making, output, satisfaction and group status. The participants were based at a cancer centre (the Edinburgh Breast Unit) and two district general hospitals (Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline) in southern Scotland. Thirty-three (73%) of the core breast cancer multidisciplinary team members completed a pre-trial (face-to-face) GBI and 24 (72%) completed a post telemedicine GBI. Eleven professionals completed both. Both GBIs produced high and similar mean scores for the majority of the ten sub-scales. Participants who completed a GBI questionnaire had similar, although slightly lower, levels of positive attitudes to telemedicine-delivered compared to face-to-face breast cancer multidisciplinary meetings. These findings support the role of videoconferencing for facilitating multidisciplinary team working within a managed cancer clinical network.