Attachments:
	Cardiac Announcement.11.05.doc	27 KB
	Diabetes Group ProgressNote.Spanish.rtf	13 KB
	Diabetes Group Progress noteDate1.doc	21 KB
	Self management plan 10-20-06.pdf	67 KB
	Measuring Outcomes SUNY10.95.ppt	15 KB

• Increased patient satisfaction with care
• Increased time spent with their doctor
• Improved doctor-patient relationship
• Increased ability to address psychosocial issues
• Increased quality of life
• Increased independence and functional abilities
• Decreased hospital days
• Decreased need for ambulance and emergency department visits
• Decreased referrals to specialists. 
• Group visits have also produced positive financial outcomes for the practices that report use of these strategies.

The group visit approach seems to improve patient’s access to their physician, improve efficiency, decrease costs, and increase patient and physician satisfaction. Group visit strategies add new therapeutic forces to the physician-patient relationship. The use of group dynamics may prove to be especially valuable with any therapeutic regimen that requires substantial personal motivation to initiate and sustain life style changes.

The group visit strategy has been applied in Family Practice settings such as the Geisinger Health Clinics in Pennsylvania, Dean Health System in Wisconsin, Mayo Health System in Minnesota and the Kaiser Permanente health systems. Masley and colleagues in the June 2000 issue of Family Practice Management describe a range of health conditions appropriate for the group visit approach including asthma, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, depression, diabetes, gastroesophogeal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and obesity. Multiple residencies in the United States are beginning to initiate Group Medical Visits, yet there is no standardization of process or organized measurement of outcomes.

The attached documents are samples of handouts and other tools to conduct Chronic Illness Group Medical Visits.