The Quadruple Aim as a Framework for Integrative Group Medical Visits

Integrative group medical visits (IGMVs) are a compelling health service delivery innovation for complementary and integrative health care (CIH). As explored in the recent JACM special issue on group-delivered services, IGMVs create an opportunity to expand<br />access to CIH. Group medical visits (GMVs) emerged at the intersection of several concerns in U.S. health care: rising prevalence of chronic health conditions, with notable disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status; extremely high health care costs compared with other industrialized countries, and high rates of clinician burnout. GMVs combine medical care, health education, and peer support to treat a wide variety of health conditions. Although billable medical care in<br />GMVs does not differ substantially from standard individual care, the presence of peers appears to provide additional benefits. IGMVs add CIH to existing GMV models, in response to CIH&rsquo;s inaccessibility to many people due to limited insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket costs.