… and are treated at the same time. Sounds strange, but shared medical appointments might be the future of healthcare. How do patients experience it?
In shared medical appointments (SMAs), patients with the same medical condition meet with the physician in a group, with each patient receiving attention in turn. The physician shares information customized to a patient’s specific needs as well as standardized information relevant to other patients with the same condition.
SMAs have been touted as a potentially effective way to meet healthcare demands worldwide, especially in countries facing significant strain on their healthcare systems. However, the limited adoption of SMAs in the healthcare sector can be attributed to patient concerns regarding loss of privacy. SMAs may impede open discussion of sensitive medical issues and dampen learning, satisfaction, and engagement.
Researchers wanted to understand the impact of SMAs on patient experience and behavior in terms of knowledge gained and satisfaction as well as follow-up rates and medication compliance rates. This new research – published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health – shows that shared appointments significantly improved patient satisfaction, learning, and medication compliance, with no compromise of patient follow-up rates or measured clinical outcomes.
The researchers conducted a large-scale randomized controlled trial at the Aravind Eye Hospital in India. India has almost a fifth of the world’s population but spends only 1.1 percent of GDP on health – the country faces a severe shortage of healthcare capacity. One thousand patients with primary glaucoma were randomly assigned to either attend one-on-one appointments or SMAs with a total of five patients. Four consecutive routine follow-up visits were performed four months apart.
At the end of each appointment, patients were surveyed to assess their satisfaction with the appointment, their knowledge about glaucoma, and their intention to return for a follow-up appointment. Patients were also tracked for their medication compliance rates.
“The demand for healthcare worldwide is soaring and exceeds supply,” says Nazlı Sönmez, ESMT Berlin and first author of the study. “In underdeveloped countries, especially, the patient-to-doctor ratio is staggering, and patients face high barriers to receiving care. We must use innovative solutions, like shared medical appointments, to meet this demand. Failure to do so would deprive a huge number of people of their fundamental human right to healthcare access.”
According to the researchers, SMAs could expand access to public healthcare, lower costs for private care, and significantly improve medical outcomes for various conditions, particularly for type 2 diabetes, in both primary and secondary care settings. The innovative utilization of SMAs could ensure that more patients receive access to healthcare faster, facilitating healthcare for all.
This article is based on a press release by ESMT Berlin. You can find the original publication here and by following the link in our text.
Image source: Jacek Dylag, Unsplash
