Stanford Health Partners: rationale and early experiences in establishing physician group visits and chronic disease self-management workshops.

Chronic disease is a major public health problem. The day-to-day management of a chronic illness requires accurate patient reporting and timely medical response. Patient group visits with the primary care physician and lay-led patient education workshops improve the provider-physician relationship, promote patient self-efficacy and self-management of chronic diseases, and facilitate positive health care outcomes. This article describes how group visits are being integrated into the clinical routine of a health care system.