Clinician-Reported Barriers to Group Visit Implementation.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Group visits have been shown to improve disease-oriented outcomes and satisfaction, yet many clinicians have not incorporated them into practice. We aimed to identify clinician-reported barriers that preclude clinicians from implementing group visits. METHODS: Primary care physicians from one practice-based research network were surveyed regarding their experience with and barriers to group visits. The survey, developed for this study, was mailed to 246 clinicians. RESULTS: Of 107 respondents (44% response rate), those in practice <10 years were significantly more likely to have had group visit experience than those with >10 years of experience. For those without prior group visit experience, training was named as the top barrier to incorporating group visits. Those with group visit experience named staffing concerns and recruitment as the top barriers to group visit implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care clinicians without prior group visit experience were less likely to endorse group visits. Addressing the modifiable barriers may enhance the incorporation of group visits into practice.