Improving Chronic Illness Care, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Seattle, Washington, USA
Group visits offer staff a new and more satisfying way to interact with patients that makes efficient use of resources, improves access and uses group process to help motivate behavior change and improve outcomes. The Group Visit Starter Kit describes the Cooperative Health Care Clinic (CHCC) model developed by the Kaiser Colorado staff. Group visits were pioneered with frail elderly patients who were high utilizers of primary care.
In this model, the health care team facilitates an interactive process of care delivery in a periodic group visit program. The team empowers the patient, who is supported by information and encouraged to make informed health care decisions. The group visit can be conceptualized as an extended doctor's office visit where not only physical and medical needs are met, but education, social and psychological concerns can be dealt with effectively.
Background
Information to prepare the Group Visit Starter Kit was received from Collene Hawes of the Group Health Cooperative, Kate Lorig of the Stanford Patient Education Research Center and John Scott of Kaiser-Colorado.
Portions of this work first appeared in or are derived or adapted from the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.
Direction
The Group Visit Starter Kit provides all the information needed to plan and run a group visit for patients with chronic illness. A planning timeline, group visit invitation letter, group visit agenda, vitals form, medication form and other tools are included as part of this Kit.