Willingness to attend group visits for hypertension treatment

To determine the proportion and characteristics of patients willing to attend group medical visits.

Cross-sectional survey.

A telephone survey was administered to 296 patients with hypertension from an urban public hospital's primary care clinic between October 2004 and August 2005.

Most respondents were female (79%) and African American (89%), with a monthly income of $1000 or less (75%) and a mean age of 56 years (age range, 29-81 years). After a brief description of the group medical visit, 68% of respondents indicated they were willing to attend the group visit. After offering 3 incentives (reduced wait to see their physician, more time with their physician, and parking or transportation subsidies), the total percentage of potential willing participants increased to 80%. Persons living with someone, reporting shorter wait times after appointment check-in, and desiring more time with their physician were more likely to be willing to attend group medical visits.

Most of the surveyed patients in the study were willing to attend group medical visits. Although the effectiveness and cost savings need further investigation, group medical visits may prove to be a desirable chronic disease care approach for underserved populations.