A Fateful Meeting A year and a half ago, I was sitting at a conference listening to Ed Noffsinger speak, and suddenly had the most profound ''Aha'' moment of my professional career. Here was someone presenting a practical and tested solution to some of the most challenging problems currently plaguing the US healthcare system, problems such as poor access to primary and specialty care; the uncontainable and rising costs of healthcare; our nation's relatively poor quality outcomes; and finally, the sense of frustration, disempowerment, loneliness, and disenfranchisement that patients and their families too often experience. Dr. Noffsinger's solution seemed deceptively simple-shared medical appointments (SMAs) that afford the highest quality healthcare to be delivered in the highest quality care experience-a group setting. Experience collected over a decade and involving more than 100,000 patient visits throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe has demonstrated that SMAs, when used in primary care as well as in the medical and surgical subspecialties, lead to increased access to care, enhanced quality of care, and improved patient satisfaction. For physicians, the efficiency gains and team support from their participation in SMAs translate into much needed relief and improved career satisfaction.

A Fateful Meeting A year and a half ago, I was sitting at a conference listening to Ed Noffsinger speak, and suddenly had the most profound ''Aha'' moment of my professional career. Here was someone presenting a practical and tested solution to some of the most challenging problems currently plaguing the US healthcare system, problems such as poor access to primary and specialty care; the uncontainable and rising costs of healthcare; our nation's relatively poor quality outcomes; and finally, the sense of frustration, disempowerment, loneliness, and disenfranchisement that patients and their families too often experience. Dr. Noffsinger's solution seemed deceptively simple-shared medical appointments (SMAs) that afford the highest quality healthcare to be delivered in the highest quality care experience-a group setting. Experience collected over a decade and involving more than 100,000 patient visits throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe has demonstrated that SMAs, when used in primary care as well as in the medical and surgical subspecialties, lead to increased access to care, enhanced quality of care, and improved patient satisfaction. For physicians, the efficiency gains and team support from their participation in SMAs translate into much needed relief and improved career satisfaction.

The US healthcare system faces numerous difficulties: uncontrolled increases in costs; major access problems; doctor shortages; closing practices; inefficiencies; decreasing revenues; shrinking bottom lines; large numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients; and the upcoming increased demands in service posed by the Affordable Care Act. As a result, many physicians and health care organications are turning to group visits to address these problems. While Dr. Noffsinger's textbook Running Group Visits In Your Practice is the cornerstone reference on designing, implementing and running shared medical appointments (SMAs) in one's practice, it lacks the simplicity and practicality that clinicians are looking for to start their own SMA programs. The ABCs of Group Visits is a practical, streamlined and step-by-step guide focused on the implementation aspects of group visits.Healthcare professionals at every level are looking for alternate ways to deliver high quality care at lower cost, and it is clear to many that group visits provide a care delivery model that will address many of today's critical challenges. The ABCs of Group Visits quickly provides a solution for your busy practice."