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.