Evaluation of an Ongoing Diabetes Group Medical Visit in a Family Medicine Practice

Purpose Group medical visits (GMVs), which combine 1-on-1 clinical consultations and group self-management education, have emerged as a promising vehicle for supporting type 2 diabetes management in primary care. However, few evaluations exist of ongoing diabetes GMVs embedded in medical practices. Methods This study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate diabetes GMV at a large family medicine practice. We examined program attendance and attrition, used propensity score matching to create a matched comparison group, and compared participants and the matched group on clinical, process of care, and utilization outcomes. Results GMV participants (n = 230) attended an average of 1 session. Participants did not differ significantly from the matched comparison group (n = 230) on clinical, process of care or utilization outcomes. Conclusions The diabetes GMV was not associated with improvements in outcomes. Further studies should examine diabetes GMV implementation challenges to enhance their effectiveness in everyday practice.