A diagrammatic summary of updated NICE melanoma guidance: A simple way to mitigate human factors in MDTs and clinics

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published an updated guideline on melanoma assessment and management in July 2022, which has included recommendation on BRAF analysis of primary melanoma tissue samples, staging with sentinel lymph node biopsy, guidance on patient follow-up as well as surveillance imaging requirement based on patients' melanoma stages. However, very often, assimilating this considerable amount of information in an efficient and accurate way can be challenging, especially in the setting of a busy multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. Human factors are well recognised as a key principle to mitigate against mistakes and human errors and thereby aiming to optimise patient care. To date, there is very limited literature available on the subject of the role of human factors in the context of MDT meetings. In recent years, the numbers and complexity of patients in cancer MDT meetings have grown significantly. Long MDT meetings could lead to distraction, loss of attention span, miscommunication, missed information, and hence increasing the risk of clinical error. We present a diagrammatic summary of the most recent NICE guidance for melanoma follow-up that is currently being used locally in our department. This aims to offer clarity and ease of use to help health care professionals to check patients' treatment pathways. It can also be included in patients' medical record for annotation or reference in future follow-up clinics, which is a simple measure to mitigate the risks of human factors, as well as ensuring consistency in continuity of patient care.& COPY; 2023 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In July 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on melanoma assessment and management, which includes recommendations on BRAF analysis, lymph node biopsy staging, patient follow-up, and surveillance imaging based on melanoma stages. The role of human factors in multidisciplinary team meetings is important for optimizing patient care, but there is limited literature on this topic. Long MDT meetings can lead to distractions, miscommunication, and increased risk of clinical errors. A diagrammatic summary of the NICE guidance is presented to provide clarity and ease of use for healthcare professionals and to mitigate the risks of human factors in patient care continuity.