Multidisciplinary Care
with Neal Friedlander, MD
Are primary care physicians involved in radiation treatment planning?
“When patients utilize cancer resources at GBMC, they have the benefit of knowint their illness is viewed from a number of different perspectives,” says Neal Friedlander, MD, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at GBMC.
Cancer care teams typically include medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, pathologists, primary care physicians and nurses. Other common team members include general, plastic and thoracic surgeons, as well as urologists, gastroenterologists and other specialists.
A team approach is especially important for radiation patients because they may also undergo additional types of treatment such as chemotherapy. “Prior to beginning treatment, the care team anticipates the entire path a patient’s case may take,” says Dr. Friedlander.
Depending on the stage and location of cancer, treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination. It is up to the care team to decide which methods will be most effective and when they should be administered. “If a patient needs medical treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy in addition to radiation therapy, we need to decide in which order they should be given, or if they can be administered simultaneously,” says Dr. Friedlander. “We also evaluate what effect one treatment method may have on the other.”
The patient’s overall health may also play a role in making treatment decisions. “We take the total person into account,” says Dr. Friedlander. “We look at physical robustness as well as how psychologically prepared they are before we decide on a particular course of action.”
At GBMC, treatment decisions are often made during a weekly meeting attended by many members of the care team, known as the multidisciplinary oncology conference. The main purpose of this conference is to discuss complex cases and form comprehensive treatment plans. According to Dr. Friedlander, all physicians, surgeons, radiologists and other team members involved in the patient’s care are welcome to attend. “It’s an open forum for presenting a case where you need the widest possible expertise,” he says.
For many physicians, there is a secondary purpose. “I attend this conference on a regular basis because I enjoy the intellectual depth that each specialist brings to a patient’s unique situation,” says Dr. Friedlander.
The camaraderie fostered by these multidisciplinary meetings also provides a significant patient benefit. “When top-notch professionals are used to working with each other, and enjoy working together, the patient receives the most comprehensive, coordinated and sophisticated medical care possible,” says Dr. Friedlander.
At GBMC, cancer patients have access to all their treatment options from one location, rather than having to coordinate care at various facilities. This network also allows the patient’s internist or primary care doctors to remain involved in their care. “If they need an update on one of their patients, a primary care doctor can easily reach the oncology doctors at any stage of treatment,” says Dr. Friedlander. The GBMC oncology team is committed to a close working relationship between themselves and the patient’s primary care physician.
“At GBMC, patients are cared for by one consistent team. It’s that multi-perspective analysis that is crucial in determining the optimum treatment,” says Dr. Friedlander.
