Shared medical appointments for the preoperative consultation visit of Mohs micrographic surgery

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2015-02, Vol.72 (2), p.340-344
• Main Authors: Knackstedt, Thomas J., MD, Samie, Faramarz H., MD, PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Appointments and Schedules; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - surgery; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - surgery; dermatologic surgery; Dermatology; Female; Group Processes; Humans; Information Dissemination; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Organizational; Mohs micrographic surgery; Mohs Surgery - methods; Office Visits; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); outcomes research; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Patient Education as Topic - organization & administration; Patient Satisfaction; Pilot Projects; Population Surveillance; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - organization & administration; Preoperative Care - methods; Referral and Consultation - organization & administration; shared medical appointments; skin cancer; Skin Neoplasms - surgery
• ISSN: 0190-9622; 1097-6787
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2014.10.022

Background Shared medical appointments (SMAs) allow patients with similar diagnoses to be simultaneously educated and cared for by 1 provider. SMAs appear well suited for Mohs micrographic surgery because all patients receive similar information about skin cancer pathophysiology, prognosis, prevention, treatment, reconstructive options, and wound care. Objective We sought to create a SMA for the preoperative consultation visit of Mohs micrographic surgery and to evaluate patient satisfaction with this model. Methods A pilot SMA was implemented. Patient satisfaction was assessed via a 13-question survey over a 6-month period. Results In all, 149 patients were seen in our SMAs. The survey response rate was 65.8%. Respondents answered Likert scale questions with a mean value of 4.29 ± 0.09 (on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the best). Patients found the SMA model useful (84.7%) and would attend another SMA in the future (80.6%). Limitations Limitations include the sample size of the study, relatively homogenous patient population, possible response bias, and a potential selection bias (as all participants in the SMA chose this type of appointment rather than a conventional one). Conclusions SMA can be successfully used for the Mohs preoperative consultation visit with high patient satisfaction.