The GFHC’s Diabetes Group Visit Project has received two new grants to continue its work in expanding the diabetes group visit model of care throughout Genesee County.
The Community Foundation of Greater Flint recently awarded the Project a one year grant for $40,000. Funding from this and previous Community Foundation grants was matched through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation’s Community Health Matching Program: Access to Care for the Uninsured and Underinsured. The BCBSM Foundation is providing the Project an additional $100,000 over a two year period.
Diabetes group visits have been shown to increase patient access to provider interaction, patient access to information and education regarding diabetes, physician/provider capacity and the quality of care for diabetes patients leading ultimately to improved health outcomes. This model of care has shown similar positive results for treating other chronic conditions such as heart failure, asthma, and chronic pain.
Both grants will assist the Diabetes Group Visit Project in expanding the multi-site implementation of group visits through the use of physician champions and educational events, updating the Project’s Replication Manual, providing community physicians with the ability to utilize the GFHC’s developing diabetes registry, and creating a business case for implementation. The Project’s primary focus will be on diabetes, but each grant will also allow the GFHC to assist physicians interested in utilizing the group visit model of care for other chronic conditions. The BCBSM grant will also fund an evaluation to further quantify the positive patient outcome and access to care measures associated with the group visit model of care.
According to Diabetes Group Visit Project Chair Paul Dake, M.D., “the potential for Diabetes Group Visits to improve patient self-management of disease is truly remarkable. This improvement is especially relevant for poorly managed patients who do not respond well to traditional one-on-one care, so therefore physicians have additional time to deal with their most difficult to treat patients through the group setting.”
Physicians interested in learning more about this best practice are encouraged to visit www.gfhc.org and visit the Diabetes Group Visit Project page under the “Current Programs” section. The full Diabetes Group Visit Project Replication Manual is available for download at this location. Interested parties can also contact the GFHC at (810) 232-2228 or gfhc@flint.org.
