But if my model works, I am positive people can copy it. And group visits certainly have been part of the solution. You see a lot of patients, you provide more services, you overcome barriers, you do it in a culturally competent way. People get to know one another, they have a better sense of community, theyre less scared, they have less anxiety, less stress, and then they have better outcomes. And I get credit for, as a doctor, when my patients have better outcomes, and have so little to do with it, that at least if I can put them in a good spot to get healthy, Im moving the right way. Dr. Jeffrey Geller

Jeffrey Geller, MD, practices family medicine and integrative medicine and has been a pioneer in group medical visits. He is widely recognized as an innovator in the delivery of health care by creating and using an empowerment model for shared medical appointments.

Dr. Geller began his work with groups in 1996 during his residency when he noticed that loneliness played a large role in his patients well-being. He has since completed research studies showing a relationship between loneliness and increased hospital visits, as well as identifying a link between loneliness, depression, and chronic illness.

Dr. Geller has a particular passion for delivering care to underserved communities. By sharing his experiences and training others to deliver health care in a group setting, he hopes to provide efficient care in a financially sustainable way that eliminates barriers to health and provides services otherwise unavailable to many patients.

I recently sat down with Dr. Geller to learn more about how loneliness plays a role in our health, how hes implemented group visits in his own practice, and the lessons hes learned along the way.

*Dr. Gellers bio adapted from im4us.org

In this episode we discuss:

• Dr. Gellers background and what drove him to change from a career in engineering to a career in family medicine


• How loneliness plays a role in our health


• His first experience with group visits and what he learned


• The Empowerment Model


• How Dr. Geller facilitates groups to allow others to be comfortable and vulnerable


• The criteria he uses to select and form groups


• The mistakes that hes learned from


• The logistics of billing and running groups within a medical practice


• How Dr. Geller utilizes Integrative and Functional Medicine into his group visits


• Some of the biggest things hes learned from his patients


• 3 things Dr. Geller does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on his health


• One thing he struggles to implement that could have a big impact on his health


• What a healthy life looks like to Dr. Geller

Links:

• The 16 MBTI Types


• UCLA Loneliness Scale


• Loneliness as a predictor of hospital emergency department use


• Group Medical Visits Using an Empowerment-based Model as Treatment for Women with Chronic Pain in an Underserved Community


• Group Medical Visits: Introducing the Group Inclusion Effect and Key Principles for Maximization


• New Balance Foundation


• Daddy Used to Be Sick and He Is Much Better Now


• Integrated Center for Group Medical Visits


• Providing Integrative Medicine to Low-income Patients through Group Visit, Arianna Thompson-Lastad


• Integrative Medicine for the Underserved


• Functional Forum Interview: Dr. Robert Luby, MD


• 2020 Integrative Medicine for the Underserved Conference


• Herschel the Jewish Reindeer

Related Episodes:

• Ep 80 Greg Glassman on Networking CrossFit Physicians and Fighting Chronic Disease
  
  


• Ep 86 James Maskell on Fighting Chronic Disease with Community-Based Healthcare


• Ep 109 All About Functional Medicine with Dr. Elizabeth Bradley, Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine


• Ep 111 A New Model for Primary Care with Dr. Ken Rictor


• Ep 116 How Healing Works with Dr. Wayne Jonas

If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating. Id love to hear your feedback in the comments below and on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every other Tuesday.

Disclaimer: This podcast is meant to share the experiences of various individuals. It does not provide medical advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from your physician or health care professional.

The post Ep 128 – Dr. Jeffrey Geller on Loneliness and the Power of Groups appeared first on Julie Foucher | Reebok CrossFit Games Athlete.