Community

Being a member of a community such as friends and family (your tribe) or even as a citizen of a country or the world has been a keystone for human survival and evolution. The feeling of security and sharing of beneficial knowledge provides a foundation for your personal growth. Being part of a group with common goals and interests improves the results for all activities related to creating improved health outcomes. You naturally like and bond to others who like you. This is why it is helpful for those with serious health problems to be part of a support group. 

Consider joining a group that shares your particular health issue. Video conferencing has made Loneliness can be an important contributor to illness. Being part of a community suthis type of activity more accessible. Contact me if you are interested in forming such a group. mailto:jamesbrentdds@gmail.com

Group Health Visits

My mission is to change the vision of your body to being more like a servant and friend. Additionally, I would like to provide training about how to treat your body in order to maximize the achievement of your desired  goals. If you and I can create an alliance between insurance providers, employers and employees or patients, then we can develop a health care system rather than our current system of disease care.

The most helpful development in medical care recently is the “Group Medical Visit”. The concept involves bringing together patients with similar health concerns and chronic illnesses or “morbidities” in groups to participate in health evaluation and education visits. These visits are designed to improve health and reduce the need for medication. Private medical practices and federally funded health centers across the nation are offering group visit services. The nationally known and highly ranked Cleveland Clinic has been doing this for several years with great success in improving outcomes and lowering health care costs. This contributes satisfaction for all concerned. The health providers offer a functional approach to treat chronic disease. This involves a search for root cause/causes to the patient’s health concern.

There are many reasons why group visits are effective. A supportive community is created that improves issues with loneliness or isolation and facilitates behavioral change. There is a ritual effect which enhances the dose dependent placebo effect. Also a supportive community increases parasympathetic nervous tone in its members for improved relaxation, digestion and repair. Balanced parasympathetic tone may be the most important factor in reducing chronic illness. I would refer readers to a meta analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, October 2019. It discusses improving function of the Vagus nerve which is the largest component of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Consider group visits as part of a billable fee for service through insurance and private pay. They could be part of an employer sponsored wellness program or offered to any group that wants to improve their health for a lower cost. People will participate in group visits if they see value, feel heard and have fun.

The visits have several components that make them effective in achieving optimum results.

1.  After intake and examination by the physician or nurse practitioner, the patient is introduced to the benefit of group medical visits and invited to participate by scheduling with a group. A wellness program can use a health risk assessment as a starting point.

2.  The first session includes: an introduction by the lead participant (doctor, nurse practitioner or health coach) the member participants introducing themselves, a check of vital signs, a review of previously determined concerns and questions, a healthy habit presentation and an informal discussion of the next visit.

3.  Subsequent visits include: vital sign evaluation, health concerns, Q&A, another healthy lecture or demonstration which could include other types of health practitioners, and further input from the participants on the need for and direction of future visits. Again, it is critical that the participants see the visits as valuable and fun and that they are heard and understood.

4.  An alternative would be to have medical intakes forms completed or health risk assessments completed and discussion of laboratory results done in group visits.

These visits may be covered by insurance when supervised by a licensed medical doctor. They are cost effective since multiple people are billed for a 90 minute visit. The results, according to those who offer this service, are amazing improvements in health.