Egger Garry, Binns Andrew, Cole Mary-Anne, Ewald Dan, Davies Lynne, Meldrum Hamish, Stevens John, Noffsinger Ed
AM, MPH, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Health and Applied Sciences, Southern Cross University, and Centre for Health Promotion and Research, New South Wales.
Aust Fam Physician. 2014 Mar;43(3):151-4.
The incidence of chronic disease continues largely unabated in modern western societies. While the content (physiology, determinants) of these diseases is well studied, processes of dealing with them at the clinical level have been less well considered. Shared medical appointments (SMAs) or group consultations (also often referred to as group visits) are 'a series of individual office visits sequentially attending to each patient's unique medical needs individually, but in a supportive group setting where all can listen, interact and learn'.
To examine the potential acceptability of SMAs for the management of chronic diseases in the Australian context.
SMAs were developed in the US to improve access to care, utilise peer support, reduce costs and improve patient and provider satisfaction in the management of chronic disease. An SMA is a comprehensive medical visit, not just a group education session, where a significant part of the added value comes from the facilitated peer interaction, particularly around aspects of self-management and empowerment. While more studies are required to compare outcomes with conventional one-on-one consultations, the reported gains in time efficiency, patient numbers managed, and patient as well as provider satisfaction, are sufficient to justify further consideration of a trial of SMAs in Australia.
在现代西方社会，慢性病的发病率总体上持续居高不下。虽然对这些疾病的内容（生理学、决定因素）已有充分研究，但在临床层面处理这些疾病的过程却较少得到充分考虑。共享医疗预约（SMA）或小组会诊（也常被称为集体就诊）是“一系列单独的门诊就诊，依次分别满足每位患者独特的医疗需求，但处于一个支持性的小组环境中，所有人都可以倾听、互动和学习”。
在澳大利亚背景下，研究共享医疗预约用于慢性病管理的潜在可接受性。
共享医疗预约在美国被开发出来，用于改善医疗服务可及性、利用同伴支持、降低成本以及提高慢性病管理中患者和提供者的满意度。共享医疗预约是一次全面的医疗就诊，而不仅仅是一次小组教育课程，其附加值的很大一部分来自于促进同伴互动，特别是围绕自我管理和赋权方面。虽然需要更多研究来将结果与传统一对一咨询进行比较，但所报告的在时间效率、管理的患者数量以及患者和提供者满意度方面的收益，足以证明在澳大利亚进一步考虑进行共享医疗预约试验是合理的。
