The most significant effect observed is with the change from baseline results .
Some evidence suggests post-intervention and change from baseline systolic blood pressure improvement at the nine to twelve month interval and change from baseline improvement at the 4 year timeframe .
There is no evidence that group visits improve LDL cholesterol values of the group visit participants .
IMPLICATION S FOR PRACTICE The evidence suggests that the most powerful model of Group medical visits ( GMV ) is when a clinician prescriber is present during or immediately after GMV sessions for medication reconciliation or individual patient needs .
BACKGROUND The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is ubiquitous .
Complications and costs of diabetes are rising and are depleting limited re sources .
It is imperative for healthcare professionals and patients alike to confront this chronic condition by exploring new interventions .
An innovative health care delivery model has emerged in the last 25 years in the form of the group medical visit .
Group medical visits can range from of six to twenty patients scheduled together with time allotted for individual care as well as in the group setting .
Do diabetes group visits lead to lower medical care charges?
OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether attending diabetes group visits ( GVs ) leads to lower medical care charges for inadequately insured patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus ( DM ) . STUDY DESIGN R and omized controlled clinical trial . METHODS Data were abstract ed from financial records for 186 patients with uncontrolled type 2 DM r and omized to receive care in GVs or usual care for 12 months . Mann-Whitney tests for differences of means for outpatient visits ( primary and specialty care ) , emergency department ( ED ) visits , and inpatient stays were performed . Separate charge models were developed for primary and specialty outpatient visits . Because GV adherence is potentially dependent on unobserved patient characteristics , treatment effect models of outpatient charges and specialty care visits were estimated using maximum likelihood methods . RESULTS Mann-Whitney test results indicated that GV patients had reduced ED and total charges but more outpatient charges than usual care patients . Ordinary least squares estimations confirmed that GVs increased outpatient visit charges ; however , controlling for endogeneity by estimating a treatment effect model of outpatient visit charges showed that GVs statistically significantly reduced outpatient charges ( P < .001 ) . Estimation of a separate treatment effect model of specialty care visits confirmed that GV effects on outpatient visit charges occurred via a reduction in specialty care visits . CONCLUSIONS After controlling for endogeneity via estimation of a treatment effect model , GVs statistically significantly reduced outpatient visit charges . Estimation of a separate treatment effect model of specialty care visits indicated that GVs likely substitute for more expensive specialty care visits
The most significant effect observed is with the change from baseline results .
Some evidence suggests post-intervention and change from baseline systolic blood pressure improvement at the nine to twelve month interval and change from baseline improvement at the 4 year timeframe .
There is no evidence that group visits improve LDL cholesterol values of the group visit participants .
IMPLICATION S FOR PRACTICE The evidence suggests that the most powerful model of Group medical visits ( GMV ) is when a clinician prescriber is present during or immediately after GMV sessions for medication reconciliation or individual patient needs .
BACKGROUND The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is ubiquitous .
Complications and costs of diabetes are rising and are depleting limited re sources .
It is imperative for healthcare professionals and patients alike to confront this chronic condition by exploring new interventions .
An innovative health care delivery model has emerged in the last 25 years in the form of the group medical visit .
Group medical visits can range from of six to twenty patients scheduled together with time allotted for individual care as well as in the group setting .