The Group Care SIG promotes shared medical appointments to meet the quadruple aim of better health, better care, added value, and increased provider joy in work, by:
- Enhancing patient experience through redesign of primary care and other medical care experiences.
- Enhancing workforce by increasing trainee capacity for facilitated, open-ended communication
- Demonstrating heightened provider engagement in long-term connection to patients
- Promoting patient safety and decreased burn-out by enhanced team-building
- Creating opportunities for adding value to the medical care experience
What is Group Care?
A group visit, also known as a shared medical appointment, is a visit where multiple patients and their families are seen as a group for well care or for management of chronic conditions. Patients benefit from the interactivity of the group where they can share their experiences and advice, and often experience improved access to their physicians, counseling with additional members of a health care team
Importance and Benefits for APA Membership
The Group Care SIG will be an opportunity for members of the APA to discuss opportunities for implementation and research in Group Care. Group Care in Primary care has been shown to improve adherence to appointments and to vaccinations, as well as to improve outcomes of mental and physical health for both parents and children. The social support that leads to improved self-efficacy in group visits is especially important for children and families who experience shame and stigma for their diagnoses or background; this includes individuals with diabetes, obesity, addiction and those are undocumented.
The limited uptake of group visits is likely due to a lack of self-efficacy among providers in the skills necessary for facilitating groups, creating complex schedules, and advocating for it among administrators. Through annual meetings at PAS and regular conference calls, APA members will help each other overcome the challenges to implementation and create a learning collaborative.
