Boston Globe: The doctor will see all of you now...

[pianola]

My mom sent me the link to this article last night. She seems to think that this will be 'the wave of the future'.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...ctor_will_see_all_of_you_now/?s_campaign=8315

Frankly, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that any sort of large-scale implementation of this system would work. Seems like there might be a very limited set of cases in which group sessions are going to be helpful/relevant/unintrusive.

What do you guys think?

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[MadEvans]

My mom sent me the link to this article last night. She seems to think that this will be 'the wave of the future'.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...ctor_will_see_all_of_you_now/?s_campaign=8315

Frankly, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that any sort of large-scale implementation of this system would work. Seems like there might be a very limited set of cases in which group sessions are going to be helpful/relevant/unintrusive.

What do you guys think?

Very interesting. Thanks for the link.

I, personally, would like this. I see an endocrinologist for type 1 diabetes and would love to hear the struggles/successes/techniques that patients like me have with managing diabetes. Also, I can see it definitely helping the doctor with saving time. However, it definitely has it shortcomings too. With my busy schedule, I may not be able to always make these scheduled 'group meetings'.

It is a very interesting idea though.

 

[IDLess]

I like the idea too. I think our society in general could stand to become less isolated instead of living in our own little boxes made of ticky-tacky, IPods, laptops, our own backyards, cars, private space, etc. Communalizing the treatment of sickness could be a good way to break down such isolating barriers. However, the healthcare market should still respect a patient's wishes and if they absolutely want to keep things private then they should have the option to do so. They are the ones who give their hard-earned money and deserve the kind of treatment they want.

 

[NCDocWannabe]

I think this an extremely interesting idea. Only problem I can think of is the universal effectiveness of group visits across various specialties.
For instance, a group of patients that would need to see a Cardiologist or possibly OB/GYN would probably exhibit similar symptoms. Therefore you could kill multiple birds with a single stone. But take neurology for example, there could be a plethora of reasons to see a nuerologist that would vary between individuals. In most cases this would require quite a bit of time to explain the ins and outs to each patient. As a result, an individual appointment would be better.

All in all I think it's great. Also, how would america supposed shift to universal health care influence this practice?

 

[Nevadanteater]

One of the clinics I refer people to does this for pre and post natal care. It actually works really really well for this cohort of people. A group of 10 or so pregnant women (all with similar due dates) will do all of their visits together and work together to meet health related goals. It works especially well because pregnancy usually follows a well defined path and all of the women can support eachother as they're all going through similar things.

Health outcomes for these people tend to be better than for similar people going it alone.

I reckon community based health care can work very well for a variety of conditions.

 

[LizzyM]

I think this an extremely interesting idea. Only problem I can think of is the universal effectiveness of group visits across various specialties.
For instance, a group of patients that would need to see a Cardiologist or possibly OB/GYN would probably exhibit similar symptoms. Therefore you could kill multiple birds with a single stone. But take neurology for example, there could be a plethora of reasons to see a neurologist

Well, you might have a group visit for epilepsy, ALS, multiple sclerosis, early dementia, etc. The model fits for many chronic conditions where the teaching and anticipatory guidance is similar for a large number of patients.