Group Care for Chronic Disease Management: A Review of the Clinical Effectiveness, Cost-effectiveness, and Guidelines [Internet]

Excerpt

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and chronic respiratory disease are the major cause of death and disability worldwide It is estimated that in Canada 89% of all deaths are due to chronic diseases. Various strategies are used for treatment of chronic diseases.

Optimal care of chronic illnesses includes the timely delivery of high quality care and easy access to care. It is thought that group medical visits have the potential of improving effectiveness, timeliness and efficiency of health care. Usually in group care, multiple patients are seen in the same clinical setting and care is provided by a multidisciplinary team comprising of members such as physician, specialist, nurse, dietitian, and educator. There is variability in the composition of the care providing team. Group care may be delivered over a fixed number of sessions or may be ongoing over time. Patient composition in the group may be fixed or may vary as in the case of drop-in attendance.

The purpose of this report is to provide evidence on the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of group care versus one-on-one care for the management of chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and heart disease and also to provide evidence-based guidelines for group care for chronic disease management.