Shared Medical Appointments: Harnessing the Power of Connection and Coaching

In this episode, Sharon Curtain is joined by John Stevens, Associate Professor of Lifestyle Medicine at Southern Cross University, who talks about the power of shared medical appointments (SMAs) and his experience using SMAs as a culturally competent and appropriate way of improving access to, and the quality of, primary healthcare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. John's journey took him from a first hand experience of chronic disease in nursing to academia and his discovery of lifestyle medicine, which led him to advocate for shared medical appointments (SMAs) over the past 15 years. Many clinicians would like to provide lifestyle guidance but lack time in standard 10-15 minute consultations. SMAs address this challenge of care, providing a model where individual consultations are conducted sequentially in a group setting, typically with 8-15 patients, led by a provider and facilitator. This approach improves the patient experience and enhances health outcomes, helping patients feel heard, reducing information overload, and allowing them to ask questions they might not think to ask in one-on-one consultations. It reduces repetition of education for clinicians, and can be cost-effective for practices. There are many benefits of shared medical appointments, and can be incredibly effective for marginalised communities and chronic disease management. John has many success stories of using SMAs in Aboriginal health services. Traditional one-on-one consultations had high no-show rates but shared medical appointments improved engagement and trust. Health Coaches are ideal facilitators as they draw wisdom from the group and evoke discussion to identify barriers and promote implementation. While the concept is simple, the setup and preparation are crucial for success.Successful implementation requires proper training, design, and integration across the entire practice team. Over 2,000 clinicians have been trained in SMAs, and the momentum is shifting as healthcare providers recognize the benefits of this approach. There are a number of options for training in SMAs, as well as useful resources. Adopting this evidence-based method more widely in healthcare settings offers a different model to 1:1 or group education, and Read more about SMAs here https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2014/march/shared-medical-appointments https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2018/january-february/programmed-shared-medical-appointments-1 Innovative models of care case study https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/case-study-snowy-valleys-shared-medical-appointment-model.pdf Shared Medical Appointment Toolkit for General Practice https://bsphn.org.au/documents/2024_01_25_sharedmedicalappointmentstoolkit_03-pdf.pdf Shared Medical appointment training: https://lifestylemedicine.org.au/shared-medical-appointments/ About John Stevens: Associate Professor of Lifestyle Medicine at Southern Cross University, registered nurse, medical sociologist, and a co-founder of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM). He has decades of health and academic experience, driving the Lifestyle Medicine movement forward in Australia. How to contact John: linkedin.com/in/john-stevens-26635a84 How to connect with HCANZA Facebook HCANZA Exclusive Group: www.facebook.com/groups/hcanzaexclusiveaccess Facebook HCANZA Page: https://www.facebook.com/HCANZA/ Linkedin HCANZA PAge: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hcanza Youtube HCANZA Page: https://www.youtube.com/@HCANZA Instagram HCANZA: https://www.instagram.com/hcanza.healthcoaches/