Shared Medical Appointments: Balancing Efficiency With Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes

The shared medical appointment (SMA) is one model of care that holds promise for achieving the goal of balancing efficiency, cost, and quality. The results of recent studies of SMAs suggest that improved physiologic health, self-efficacy, and patient education and feasibility emerge as positive outcomes. In order to discover the potential applicability of the SMA format to otolaryngology, a pilot nasal symptoms SMA (NSSMA) model was implemented. The NSSMA was piloted in a private otolaryngology practice serving a metropolitan area in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test demonstrated a significant improvement in the SNOT-20 score (T = -2.073; P = .019). Descriptive analyses for patient satisfaction results indicate high levels of patient satisfaction with the NSSMA. Also, Wilcoxon Signed Rank test for posttest knowledge scores were significantly higher than pretest scores (T = 1.667; P = .048). For busy practices managing large panels, the SMA serves as an opportunity to balance cost and quality.