Changing Healthcare: One Shared Medical Appointment at a Time

 The shared medical appointment (SMA) is a health care provision model that has emerged as a desirable option for cost-effective, quality care. These are medical appointments in which multiple patients with the same chronic medical condition are seen as a group for follow-up or routine care (thus, patients share their appointments). The SMAs provide a setting in which patients have improved access to their clinician, the benefit of added education, and can share experiences and advice with other patients with the same disease. To address these educational needs, this program will provide learners with the tools to implement successful SMAs in their medical practices. This program will also stimulate learners to formulate ideas and discuss ways to increase patient access and quality outcomes when implementing shared medical appointments.