Revolutionizing Clinic Evaluation: Developing and Piloting a Group Practice Review Method for Family Medicine Clinics

<title>ABSTRACT:</title><sec><title>Background:</title> Group medical practice has grown globally, necessitating evaluation methods to enhance patient care and physician well-being. The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) launched a pilot project, the Group Practice Review (GPR), to assess family medicine and general practice (FM/GP) clinic performance, focusing on groups or clinics rather than at the individual level. </sec><sec><title>Methods:</title> Eight volunteer clinics with a total of 65 FM/GPs in Alberta, Canada participated in the GPR pilot. Compliance with CPSA's Standards of Practice (SOP), chart scores, complaints, and risky prescribing were evaluated. SOP compliance was assessed through office observation and policy reviews. Prescription flags identified the number of patients on high doses of opioids and benzodiazepines. </sec><sec><title>Results:</title> None of the clinics met all CPSA SOP. On average, 91.7% of SOPs were met. Common deficiencies included patient recordkeeping and drug storage standards. Post-visit feedback suggested improvements in process definitions and access to SOP compliance reports before facilitation visits. The average cost per physician to conduct the GPR as a part of the pilot project was $300 Canadian dollars ($225 USD). </sec><sec><title>Conclusions:</title> The GPR pilot demonstrated a feasible, cost-effective approach for evaluating FM/GPs in group settings, fostering proactive environments and promoting timely corrective actions. </sec>