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Group Visit Empowerment Model: Medical Treatment for Chronic Illnesses
By Jeffrey Geller, MD
Faculty, Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, Lawrence, MA
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Public Health and Family Medicine,
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Director of Integrated Medicine and Group Therapies, Greater Lawrence
Family Health Center
If you’re interested in learning about group medical visits, then Dr. Jeffrey Geller’s presentation on
“Group Visit Empowerment Model” was the place to be. Dr. Geller is the Director of Integrative
Medicine at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. He has been facilitating group medical visit
since 1996, and making them financially viable. What is most interesting is that he has achieved
success with this model in a financially deprived, largely Caribbean, Latino immigrant population. He
shared his secrets in a lively, freewheeling discussion this past May 1st at the DCOM meeting.
The concept of group medical visits isn’t new but isn’t found in many practices for a variety of reasons:
lack of patient privacy, lack of group facilities, staff scheduling issues and a lack of clear billing
guidelines for sustainability.
His recipe for positive outcomes in a group medical setting includes the following:
• A comfortable environment
• Provision of a good experience
• Clear expectations and goals
• Consistency
• Financial stability
• And a focus on counteracting loneliness
He defined loneliness as the lack of someone you can turn to with problems and ask for help in making
decisions. According to Dr. Geller, lonely people have poorer medical outcomes, including depression
and diabetes. He feels that the Lawrence group format works because it targets loneliness by
bringing people together who have things in common and having them work side by side toward a
goal they want to work on. An example is the boys’ group “6-pack Abs”. They learned soldier boy
dance, learned how to swim in order to go boating, built a community garden and picked
strawberries.
The results of all the group formats were that people experienced less loneliness and less
depression. Not surprisingly, they had improved A1C levels, weight loss and improved blood pressure.
Groups have 14 to 40 members and meet between 3 times a week to once a month. To make the
group visits self-supporting, Geller links the visits to individual physician appointments.
back to statewide meeting page
By Jeffrey Geller, MD
Faculty, Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, Lawrence, MA
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Public Health and Family Medicine,
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Director of Integrated Medicine and Group Therapies, Greater Lawrence
Family Health Center
If you’re interested in learning about group medical visits, then Dr. Jeffrey Geller’s presentation on
“Group Visit Empowerment Model” was the place to be. Dr. Geller is the Director of Integrative
Medicine at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. He has been facilitating group medical visit
since 1996, and making them financially viable. What is most interesting is that he has achieved
success with this model in a financially deprived, largely Caribbean, Latino immigrant population. He
shared his secrets in a lively, freewheeling discussion this past May 1st at the DCOM meeting.
The concept of group medical visits isn’t new but isn’t found in many practices for a variety of reasons:
lack of patient privacy, lack of group facilities, staff scheduling issues and a lack of clear billing
guidelines for sustainability.
His recipe for positive outcomes in a group medical setting includes the following:
• A comfortable environment
• Provision of a good experience
• Clear expectations and goals
• Consistency
• Financial stability
• And a focus on counteracting loneliness
He defined loneliness as the lack of someone you can turn to with problems and ask for help in making
decisions. According to Dr. Geller, lonely people have poorer medical outcomes, including depression
and diabetes. He feels that the Lawrence group format works because it targets loneliness by
bringing people together who have things in common and having them work side by side toward a
goal they want to work on. An example is the boys’ group “6-pack Abs”. They learned soldier boy
dance, learned how to swim in order to go boating, built a community garden and picked
strawberries.
The results of all the group formats were that people experienced less loneliness and less
depression. Not surprisingly, they had improved A1C levels, weight loss and improved blood pressure.
Groups have 14 to 40 members and meet between 3 times a week to once a month. To make the
group visits self-supporting, Geller links the visits to individual physician appointments.
back to statewide meeting page
| Spring Statewide Meeting - May 1, 2009 |
|
