Group Medical Appointments in Diabetes Care: Is There a Future?
- Katie Weinger, EdD, RN
Abstract
In Brief
New models are emerging for using patient groups in the medical care of diabetes. Most include a diabetes education component. Several of these models have demonstrated improved glycemic outcomes during randomized trials. However, determining which component of these care delivery systems is responsible for any realized clinical improvement is difficult. Thus, more well-designed, randomized, controlled studies and more details on applying group techniques to medical appointments are necessary to understand the health and cost-effectiveness outcomes of group medical appointments.
Footnotes
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Katie Weinger, EdD, RN, is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Center for Innovation in Diabetes Education, and an investigator in the Behavioral and Mental Health Research Department at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Mass.
- American Diabetes Association
