Shared medical appointments

Shared medical appointments

First proposed by Noffsinger,1 shared medical appointments were conceived as a clinical encounter in which patients receive healthcare, from one or more health professionals, in a group setting. This includes patient education and counselling, physical examination, and clinical support. Patients attending shared appointments usually share a key attribute, such as medical condition.

Sharing elements with traditional patient education groups, shared appointments uniquely incorporate clinical interventions, such as history taking, examination, and clinical management. During appointments of about 90 minutes, up to 12 patients can share experiences, interact with facilitating professionals as a group, and receive one to one care. Variations on this model have the clinical component delivered in a group setting, with patients able to listen and contribute to other consultations, or as private one to one consultations held in parallel with …