Advantages and Disadvantages of a Virtual MDC
A virtual MDC improves ease of attendance, particularly for off-site providers. This encourages greater participation for community providers. Our most recent virtual MDC allowed the inclusion of additional providers from a UPMC campus 200 miles from our main center in Pittsburgh. Additionally, eliminating the need to travel from local hospitals within the UPMC system decreases time and burden previously required for providers to attend MDC. The virtual format provides flexibility to on-site providers as well, which promotes attendance. Images are more easily viewed by both the neuroradiologist and MDC participants when a virtual format is employed. Furthermore, by attending MDC at their workstation, providers have real time access to patient records, which can be reviewed to assist with clinical decision making.
One disadvantage of a virtual MDC is the lack of personal interaction during discussions of patient care. This results in decreased camaraderie between providers across specialties. Additionally, interactive conversations with multiple speakers can be challenging using the videoconferencing software. Software difficulties including difficulty with screen sharing and audio were challenges primarily during the first virtual MDC sessions. However, this has been improved in subsequent sessions. Finally, some participants found it more difficult to follow the list of patients discussed during virtual MDC.