Have you been to a group appointment for your health care? Have you heard of them? They are getting more and more popular for a few reasons. They are more cost-effective and they help people! Group visits allow health care providers to see more patients for a longer amount of time, and this approach may help with the current shortage of diabetes educators, physicians and other health care professionals.
Group visits are something that diabetes educators talk about a lot. There are sessions at conferences on this topic, class discussions, webinars, and everyday water cooler conversations (or e-mail messages) between colleagues.
But what about the people for whom we provide these group visits? What do you think of them? Is it true that you learn more than in an individual visit? Do you feel comfortable in a room full of people, discussing diabetes? What number of people do you think is the most effective – 5, 15, 50? It’s time we hear some feedback about group visits…from the group!