Transforming thoracic tumor board practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned.

584 Background: Caring for cancer patients requires Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards (MTB). With the COVID pandemic, the structure of MTB had adapted from an in-person to a virtual format, posing challenges with collaboration and participation. The purpose of this study is to examine perceptions of virtual Thoracic MTB to its participants, and how this might impact the MTB utility and recommendations. Methods: Survey data was collected from 75 participants of Thoracic MTB between August and October 2022. A Likert scale was utilized to capture participant perception of Thoracic MTB, what areas of Thoracic MTB need improvement, and how likely participants would follow recommendations suggested at Thoracic MTB. Participants could also add comments at the end of the survey to discuss their thoughts on tumor board and the changes made during the pandemic. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were utilized to analyze the results. Results: Table 1 depicts a few of the participant characteristics. On average, participants “to a great extent” felt that Thoracic MTB improved care and outcomes for their patients and increased knowledge about treatment paradigms. Participants to a “minimal or slight extent” felt judged presenting patients or asking questions. Most felt that “organization”, “pre-meeting communication”, and “lack of follow-up” were some of the challenging aspects of Thoracic MTB. Conclusions: The survey data indicated an overall positive response to the hybrid format of Thoracic MTB during the pandemic. Many felt that the virtual format allowed for satellite centers within the healthcare system to consistently participate in Thoracic MTB and gain assistance in treating complex patients. 60% of participants noted that the virtual aspect of Thoracic MTB improved their experience. However, there was concern that collegiality was less apparent as Thoracic MTB used a virtual formal; a few noted feeling intimidated when speaking online. Our institution chose to move to a hybrid format with in-person and virtual attendance in May 2023. More research is needed to determine success factors in experience, value, and impact for other tumor boards that have a virtual option. Participant characteristics. Medical Oncology Radiation Oncology Surgical Oncology Pulmonary Medicine Pathology Radiology Nurse Navigator Other n 18 12 3 17 4 4 6 11 Most common range of time spent with organization 0-5 years 6-10 years 11-25 years 11-25 years 11-25 years 11-25 years 11-25 years 6-10 years Most common range of distance from MTB site <5 miles 10-20 miles <5 miles <5 miles <5 miles <5 miles <5 miles 5-10 miles n = sample size.