How can bringing patients together transform their healthcare experience? In this episode of The Catalyst podcast, Dr. Lara Salyer delves into this question with Dr. Jeff Geller, a family physician and innovator in integrative medicine. Dr. Geller shares his impactful journey working with underserved communities and his dedicated efforts to alleviate loneliness and enhance healthcare outcomes through the concept of group medical visits.

Dr. Geller's approach, rooted in his research on loneliness and empowerment, showcases the remarkable benefits of group visits. He explains how these sessions, ranging from acupuncture to mental health support groups, not only build a sense of community among patients but also significantly boost health outcomes and instill a feeling of empowerment.

Tackling practical aspects, Dr. Geller addresses the challenges of insurance billing and maintaining appropriate boundaries within group settings. He offers advice on ethical billing practices and the importance of adapting these group models to meet the specific needs of different communities.

Looking ahead, Dr. Geller expresses optimism about integrating group visits into future healthcare models like value-based care, highlighting their potential in improving patient care while reducing costs.

Dr. Geller's experiences and perspectives provide a compelling argument for healthcare professionals to consider this innovative approach in their practices, promising a more communal and empowering patient experience.

Quotes

• "Life is a lot muckier than that. You know, you can't tell someone this. I always talk about pomegranates because I think 30 years ago, someone said pomegranates are the healthiest food. And I looked at my patients in the poor city I was in, and I was like, the chances of anyone here getting a pomegranate are low." (8:31 | Dr. Jeff Geller)

• "When you become a doctor, you don't really realize that the esteem that people will sometimes put on you or the higher level of things. And so just by walking into the public library and having a group made me, I think, a little bit more accessible to people." ( 9:55 |Dr. Jeff Geller) 

• "You don't need to talk to run a really good effective group. In fact, my Spanish was terrible and I ran Spanish speaking groups and I would just have to sit there and say, what are you saying? And what did she just say? And what did he just say? Is everyone OK here? You know, and now I'm fairly fluent, but it was, you know, it's just you have to trust that people want good things for one another, you know, and that people want to help one another." (10:35 | Dr. Jeff Geller) 

• "Feedback can be our best friend. When we learn if something changed or we're not getting the results we thought, we need to ask the people that we're serving. And so being very religious about asking what's working, what would have made this an immediate yes to join, or why didn't you join, or why did you leave, or how can I make this more engaging? And that keeps it fresh."(29:17 |Dr. Lara Salyer)

• "We have 30 weekly group visits in my small private practice for the underserved. And some of them are this empowerment model. Some of them are very prescribed and we're kind of really trying to expand as much as we can to accommodate more people coming to our practice." (31:05 | Dr. Jeff Geller)

Links

Connect with Dr. Jeff Geller, MD,

Website: https://icgmv.org

"Daddy Used to be Sick" free PDF book: https://files.hria.org/files/SA3556.pdf

"Herschel the Jewish Reindeer" https://www.amazon.com/Hershel-Jewish-Reindeer-Jeff-Geller/dp/0997722428

Connect with Lara: 

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

The Catalyst Way: https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer

TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm