Power of Shared Medical Appointments: Research Insight

How shared medical appointments influence patient experience, including knowledge gained, satisfaction, and behavior, such as follow-up rates and medication compliance rates have been explored by a collaborated study that involved Nazlı Sönmez from ESMT Berlin, along with Kavitha Srinivasan and Rengaraj Venkatesh from Aravind Eye Hospital (India), Ryan W. Buell from Harvard Business School, and Kamalini Ramdas from London Business School ().

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.

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‘New study aimed to uncover the effects of shared medical appointments on patient experience and behavior, encompassing knowledge, satisfaction, follow-up rates, and medication compliance. # Patient Health, #Shared Medical Appointments, #Follow-Up ’

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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 demand 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, which may impede open discussion of sensitive medical issues and dampen learning, satisfaction, and engagement.

Patient Insights and Outcomes

This new research shows that SMAs significantly improved patient satisfaction, learning, and medication compliance, with no compromise of patient follow-up rates or measured clinical outcomes.

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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 its GDP on health and faces a dire shortage of healthcare capacity.

One thousand patients with primary glaucoma were randomly assigned to either attend one-on-one appointments or SMAs with five total patients in four successive routine follow-up visits scheduled four months apart.

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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 Sönmez.

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“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.”

Reference:

Evidence from the first Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) randomized controlled trial in India: SMAs increase the satisfaction, knowledge, and medication compliance of patients with glaucoma - (https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0001648)

Source-Eurekalert