I'm Dr. Bruce Eisendorf.
For those who don't know me, I've been in family medicine
here at PAMF, previously Santa Cruz Medical Clinic,
since 1992 and started doing shared medical appointments,
probably in about 1997.
Since 2010, have really expanded them
to doing two to three group office visits a week.
So when we talk about group office visits,
there are generally three different types.
One of the group office visits referred to as the
Cooperative Health Care Clinic.
It's getting people together who have a certain
problem or condition or risk for a condition,
and they meet on a somewhat periodic basis.
So I have the cardiac risk reduction
shared medical appointment.
I have the mind/body/medicine shared medical appointment.
What I do is I invite many of my patients
with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease,
obesity, and we meet in the conference room.
It's an hour and a half session, so for 20 or 30
minutes, I'm doing this Power Point presentation,
educating people on the latest information
of these different topics. And then for a third of the visit,
there is a group discussion, question and answer.
And for a third of the visit, I'm addressing individuals,
discussing their recent blood tests, their problems.
The one that we call a DIMA, a drop-in medical appointment.
This is something that I was doing on a once-a-week basis.
Every Monday afternoon we would gather in a conference
room and have, on average, 5 to 14 patients.
What I discovered in many of my patients was that probably
half of what I was talking about was applicable and of value
and interest to them,
such as things like how to manage your cold,
how to deal with a strain or a sprain.
The one that I probably find most satisfying is the physical
shared medical appointment. I'm seeing each patient
individually for just a physical exam,
privately in an exam room.
I usually see six patients, 5-minute exam,
and then we all come together in the conference room
for about an hour, discussing health issues,
reviewing their blood tests.
I'm really just addressing each person one by one,
and also trying to be aware that there is a group
and putting out there, Does anyone else in the group
have had that experience?
Or, you know, people talking about their difficulty sleeping,
or losing weight.
I'll address Mr. Smith, who I know has struggled with that
and really overcome that,
so utilizing the value of the group.
Many people really like this. Not only are they
getting their specific question and concern addressed,
but they're hearing other people's concerns,
and oftentimes getting other people's maybe perspective
on their issue.
Often a group of people have more answers and insights
to a problem than just I would come up with.
In addition, maybe someone is just coming in because
of their cold or sinus problem, but they're leaving
with a better understanding of diet, nutrition,
how to maintain a healthy blood sugar.
how they might lose weight, or sleep better.
And I feel like this is a great opportunity for patients
who are willing to be more open about themselves and explore
other ways of addressing health and health concerns.
To those who want to explore this further,
have an interest in this, I would encourage them,
get in touch with me, Dr. Bruce Eisendorf, Family Medicine,
and I'm happy to discuss it further with you
or direct you to the coordinator,
who can really help get this started.
