MDT key terms

A group of health and care professionals from different disciplines who meet regularly to share information, discuss individual patients, and agree a coordinated plan of care within defined governance arrangements.

A scheduled case conference in which team members present patients, review the evidence and reach a documented recommendation that is then communicated to the patient and the referrer.

A written document setting out a team's purpose, membership, meeting frequency, decision-making rules, quorum and reporting lines, which gives the group formal authority and accountability.

The minimum number and type of members who must be present for a meeting to be valid and its decisions binding, as defined in the group's terms of reference.

The person who leads the meeting, manages time and contributions, ensures each case is discussed against agreed standards, resolves disagreement and confirms the recorded recommendation.

An administrative role that logs referrals, schedules and prepares case lists, tracks actions and outcomes, and maintains data quality so meetings run efficiently and decisions are followed up.

A shared understanding of what each team member contributes, what they are accountable for, and where their duties end, which reduces duplication, gaps and interprofessional conflict.

The duty of each registered practitioner to answer for their own decisions and actions, in line with their code of conduct, even when acting on a team recommendation.

The range of activities a practitioner is trained, competent and permitted to perform, set by regulation, employer policy and their own continuing professional development.

Passing a specific task to another team member who has the competence to perform it, while the delegator keeps responsibility for judging that the delegation was appropriate.

A named professional who acts as the patient's main point of contact, coordinates appointments and communication, and helps the person navigate the different services involved in their care.

The limit separating one profession's legitimate role and expertise from another's, respected to avoid role confusion while allowing flexible, patient-centred working where competence permits.

A formal request for a patient to be assessed or discussed by the team, containing enough clinical information for members to judge the urgency and appropriateness of the request.

The process of sorting referrals by clinical urgency and complexity so that limited meeting time is used for the patients who most need team discussion.

The agreed set of core information items that must be available for every case, such as diagnosis, stage, investigations and comorbidity, so that decisions rest on comparable data.

A standard template that guides the referrer to present a concise, complete history and a clear question for the team, reducing omission and keeping discussion focused.

The ordered list of cases and items to be covered in a meeting, circulated in advance so members can prepare and time is protected for complex discussions.

Making care decisions by combining the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and the patient's values, rather than relying on habit or opinion alone.

A systematically developed statement advising practitioners on appropriate care for specific circumstances, usually graded by strength of evidence and updated periodically.

A documented team decision reached after discussing the evidence and the individual case, recorded with the reasoning and any dissent so that the plan is transparent.

A written plan tailored to one person's clinical needs, preferences and circumstances, stating agreed goals, interventions, responsibilities and review dates.

A conversation in which clinicians explain options, benefits and harms, and the patient's values and preferences are used to reach an agreed course of action.

A structured conversation identifying a person's physical, emotional, social, practical and information needs, which produces an agreed action plan and appropriate referrals.

A structured communication tool covering Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation, used to hand over information clearly and reduce misunderstanding between professionals.

A pattern in which the sender gives a clear instruction, the receiver repeats it back, and the sender confirms it, so that messages are correctly received and acted on.

The professional and legal duty to keep personal health information private and share it only with those who need it for the person's care or another lawful purpose.

Eight principles governing the use and sharing of confidential health information, including justifying the purpose, using the minimum necessary data and being transparent with patients about how information is used.

A note made at or shortly after the event it describes, dated, signed and attributed, so that the clinical record reliably reflects what was discussed and decided.

The framework of law, policy and practice controlling how health information is collected, stored, shared, retained and disposed of securely and lawfully.

A quality improvement cycle that measures care against agreed standards, identifies gaps and implements change, then re-measures to confirm that improvement has occurred.

A measurable target used to monitor an important aspect of team activity, such as discussion before treatment, documentation completeness or time from referral to decision.

Plan-Do-Study-Act: a small, rapid test of a change in which the team predicts the effect, tries it, examines the result and decides whether to adopt, adapt or abandon it.

Structured scrutiny of a team's practice or decisions by colleagues of comparable expertise, used to check quality, share learning and identify development needs.

Comparing a service's performance or outcomes with agreed standards or with comparable services, in order to identify variation and set realistic improvement targets.

A structured investigation of an incident or serious event that traces contributing factors in systems and processes, rather than blaming individuals, so that recurrence is prevented.