Episode 99: Unpacking Group Visits With Icgmv Founder, Dr. Jeff Geller, MD
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.
About Dr. Jeff Geller, MD, President and Founder of ICGMV:
The 2020 Massachusetts Family Physician of the year. Known as an Innovator in the field of family practice medicine. Created group medical visits based on award winning research on loneliness from 1996 to 1999 and developed an empowerment model of care. Created the first fellowship in integrative medicine for the under served in 2005. Awarded the ‘Champion of health’ award in 2008 by the US Surgeon General, and the ‘Power to Change our World’ award in 2012 by FMEC. Current President of ICGMV. Past President of IM4US.
The Integrated Center for Group Medical Visits (ICGMV) is a non-profit dedicated to reducing health disparities in underserved communities using the power of group medical visits (GMVs). It is the first GMV teaching center in the US. ICGMV is nationally recognized with the experienced duo of Dr. Paula Gardiner leading research, and Dr. Jeffrey Geller leading clinical innovation.
It has shown GMVs to be more effective and efficient in achieving better health outcomes for low income patients and their families. GMVs offer more time with patients, help mental health, and provide services to overcome health barriers which lead to better health outcomes. ICGMV has partnered with Kronos Health, a private medical practice using innovative reimbursement practices which incentivizes keeping our patients healthy. This practice allows ICGMV to provide non-reimbursed health services such as exercise, education, mental health, telemedicine groups, and effective alternative medicine therapies, and empowerment groups for adults and children.
ICGMV is a national resource center, providing educational and structural materials to organizations interested in adopting GMVs and offering consultation and in-person training experiences at low cost to assist learning for individuals and organization interested in adopting GMVs.
In This Episode We're Talking About:
- How bringing patients together can transform their healthcare experience
- Dr. Geller’s impactful journey working with underserved communities
- Hope for integrating group visits into future healthcare models
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 for this Episode:
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 Dr. Lara Salyer:
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Catalyst Kit: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/catalyst_kit
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
Thank You For Listening!
If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review! Your positive review helps other physicians find this podcast and increase the visibility.
About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:
I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.
Episode Search
Mark your calendars! The Catalyst launches episodes weekly. You can expect to find a new, insightful conversation with a catalyst every Friday!