Table 2

Analysis of SMAs Innovation: Translating SMA into Local Context (February 2005)

Dimension of SMA Innovation – Basic guidelines that needed to be translated
Starting Point: Initial Decisions
Promoting Factor
Hindering Factor

Shared Medical Appointment Initiation
Core team with strengths related to diabetes were open to change and working together
Mandate from Central Office; Training provided; no specific guidelines; local facility has long history of supporting novel methods of care delivery
No specific guidelines; limited resources

Focus: disease-specific or non-specific
Diabetes (reduce cardiovascular risk)
Provided focus consistent with strong core team


Drop-in or Schedule Patients
Scheduled
Able to call and remind; able to plan
Limits number and requires more coordination

Multi-disciplinary Professional Team
Collaboration with key disciplines present
Strong, committed core team, including one member representing key leadership within primary care clinic
Difficulty coordinating, and finding and freeing up time to participate

1 or more with prescribing Authority
Physician (Medical Director of Clinic); Endocrine nurse practitioner; Clinical pharmacist
Built-in redundancy of prescribers assisted with efficiency
Team members had different supervisors; Workload credit and credit for SMAs

1 or more variety of Disciplines
Health Psychologist; Registered nurse

Different supervisors; Workload credit

Group of patients (8–20)
4–8 patients (8 invited)
Flexibility to pilot test with small numbers of patients
Questions raised about inefficiency

Target population
Local registry to identify patients
Sufficient numbers who would benefit


Primary care provider pool (pull from one or more)
All Primary care providers' patients eligible
Able to include all high- risk patients
Threatened provider-patient relationship

Patient pool
A1c > 9%; systolic blood pressure > 130 mmHg; LDL-cholesterol > 100 mg/dL

Getting several patients there; Viewed as difficult and non-compliant; concern about no-show rates

Time and Frequency: Meet for 90–120 minutes and variable regarding frequency
90 minutes and to meet weekly (Friday afternoons)



Techniques and Processes for conducting SMA
Modification of chronic care model as a guide



Didactics
Keep at a minimum

Many team members most comfortable with 'teaching' rather than facilitating group discussion

Information display and Sharing
Large board with patient lab values and other outcomes (e.g., A1c, systolic blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol); prepared by Clinical pharmacists
Summarized key points and helped solidify take home messages despite concern about non-lecture format


Group discussion
Peer support Motivational interviewing by Health Psychologist
Learning by all is possible even if not sharing; Simplified and focused individual session that followed group encounter
Some patients uncomfortable in groups

Clinical component
Group chart display



Forms: General information
ABCs of diabetes care (A1c, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc), foot care, etc.
Able to help meet performance measures; document patients educated
Hard to clarify for others what exactly was covered

Forms: Patient-specific
Patient completed form with current values (copied from board), goals, med changes, plan of care outlined
Felt patients were getting individual information and tailoring
Preparation time

Space
Remote training rooms not available and negotiated clinic space
Able to secure some space
Limited options especially given construction

Location
Primary Care Clinic Conference Room
Familiar
Displaced providers who use the room and limited access to computers available in the primary care clinic conference room

Size and arrangement
Small conference room with computers and crowded
Table seating conducive to group sharing
Limited in size and mobility; configuration not ideal

Mechanics




Documentation (suggest/identify individual to take responsibility)
Initially used a group note field in electronic record system, but recognized that modifications would need to be made.1
User friendly, consistent with usual methods of documenting


1The group note fieldallows text to be entered that will appear in the note of every patient in the group. However, it was recognized early on that such a note did not allow for customization. Therefore, we initiated the development of a templated note with embedded guidelines that was user-friendly and facilitated the efficiency of documentation and standardization and completeness of individual treatment plans. This development took place over a period of several months.

Kirsh et al. Implementation Science 2008 3:34   doi:10.1186/1748-5908-3-34