Picture this: instead of sitting alone in a doctor’s office, you’re in a room with 20 other patients who share your same health condition. Everyone is learning together, asking questions, and supporting each other. This is what happens during a group medical visit, and it might be exactly what you need.
What Exactly Is a Group Medical Visit?
A group medical visit, also called a shared medical appointment, brings together patients with similar health conditions for a longer appointment with their healthcare team. At Sky Lakes, group visits are “a fabulous way to get great access to healthcare clinicians,” says Dr. Stewart Decker, a family medicine physician at Sky Lakes. Patients spend an hour each week for four weeks, with half the time led by a clinician and half by a dietitian or behavioral health specialist.
“Our job is to educate as much as we can about everything that we know about these conditions,” explains Dr. Decker. “I usually teach what is going wrong in the body when you have this condition, then go through all of the medications, their benefits, their risks, their indications.”
You still get individual attention from your doctor, but you also benefit from group education and peer support. Dr. Decker adds, “One of the most powerful things about a group visit is that one patient will ask a question, and everyone else will say, ‘Oh yeah, I want to hear the answer to that.’ People realize they’re not alone, and that sense of community can be just as healing as the medical advice.”
The Benefits You’ll Experience
Research shows that group medical visits can improve your health outcomes and quality of life. When you see how other patients handle their conditions, you pick up new strategies and feel less alone in your health journey. Extra time with clinicians means better education about your condition and more support for managing it at home.
What Is the Cost for Group Visits?
Many insurance plans cover them just like regular visits. Plus, you’ll likely learn self-management skills that help you avoid costly emergency room visits or complications down the road.
“They’re billed much the same way as a regular visit,” says Dr. Decker, “but you get an hour’s worth of clinician time instead of just 15 or 20 minutes. That extra time, plus access to specialists like dietitians or behavioral health providers, would be hard for many patients to get otherwise.”
Is a Group Visit Right for You?
Group medical visits work best if you have a chronic condition that requires ongoing management and education. They’re perfect if you want to learn from others, don’t mind sharing your experiences, and prefer a more relaxed, supportive environment than a typical medical office. Sky Lakes currently offers 10 group medical visits, including high blood pressure, anxiety and depression, and diabetes. Ask your doctor if one of our group visits is right for you.
Want to learn more? Read Regina’s Story about what she learned through SkyLakes’ group medical visits for pain management.
Interested in Group Medical Visits?
The Sky Lakes Wellness Center offers a variety of group medical visits throughout the year. Led by our providers, Stewart Decker, MD, Jennifer Newton, RD, CDCES, MPH, and Mary McKinney, QMHA, Group Medical Visits (GMVs) include two to four sessions each month. These sessions focus on specific disease facts, treatments, and interventions that can help you manage your health and live your best life.
