Group Visits for Your Healthcare Practice

Have you tried Group Visits with your patients? 

SLiiM is a community of healthcare pros, and we oftentimes hear the same issues arise over and over again. Towards the top of that list is that doctors feel too rushed when meeting with patients. They wished they had more time for educating the patient, for discussing lifestyle, and for fitting all of this into a tightly scheduled appointment time.

This is where Group Visits can provide a unique opportunity for healthcare practices to spend more time with their patients, outside of routine one-on-one appointments.

Consider these four easy steps to starting your own Group Visit sessions:

1. Choose your target audience or you favorite topic.

Start from your greatest need or your greatest passion. If you love teaching about gut health, then that’s where you could start. If you have a lot of patients with hormone issues then start with a group visit dedicated to hormone discussion. If you serve patients needing weight loss support, that is where you should begin! Providers are more apt to begin group visits if they start with a topic they love or a patient demographic they see a lot of in their practice.

2. Set the date.

If something is on the calendar you are more likely to do it. Most often providers will have procrastination around this unless they get a date on the calendar. This will hold your office accountable for planning your group visit. I highly encourage providers to schedule these during normal office hours. This does not have to be an evening or a weekend event. Remember: this is an appointment and should be treated as such.

3. Tell them to come.

There are many ways you can get patients to attend such as having a group session a requirement for a lab review or as part of their treatment protocol. If you tell patients that group is part of their healthcare plan, they are more likely to attend. Remember you are doing this so that you have time to go into the lifestyle education piece frequently missed during routine appointments. Doctors often don't have the time to get into lifestyle education and that’s what group visits can afford you.

4. Conduct the group/build a community.

This is the fun part! Attend and enjoy the group session as you get to spend more time with your patients and help them with their challenges. Be prepared to share some information but also remember to ask questions and allow the group to give feedback to each other. All of the responsibility isn’t on you and your team. You will be amazed at what the group shares with each other in the community that is formed! This is the missing piece in healthcare and the true magic of group visits.

We love this topic and have put together a detailed checklist on items to consider under each of these points. If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to contact us, and we will be happy to send you more information on organizing and planning your own group visits!

Kristen Brokaw

Founder, SLiiM

info@sliim.org or 314-378-8295