Leveraging Time With Lifestyle-Based Group Visits

Abstract

Many challenges in reversing the chronic disease epidemic boil down to a lack of available time. Without time, implementing effective lifestyle medicine therapies and creating a therapeutic partnership between provider and patient is ineffectual. Although useful, the individual medical appointment model alone has not proved to “bend the cost curve” or improve morbidity. Lifestyle-based group visits (LBGVs) are extended clinical encounters that allow physicians and their patients to exchange valuable information regarding optimal chronic disease management within a supportive group format. Clinically, LBGVs improve patient knowledge scores and chronic disease outcome measures. Operationally, they reduce lobby wait times, increase available new and established patient appointment slots (ie, improving access), and improve provider and patient satisfaction measures. LBGVs simultaneously improve patient lives, disease management costs, and practice revenue when used in primary care and specialty practices. By providing personalized lifestyle education coupled with in-depth behavior modification support from a provider and a peer group with similar successes and struggles, group visits reduce symptomatology and reverse disease progression without expensive medications, procedures, and technologies. Despite perceived obstacles, the group medical appointment model is easy to implement and provides consistent benefits in settings ranging from residency programs to cash-based boutique practices.