Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) Content
SMA Curricula, Note Templates, and Clinical Resources: Ready-to-use materials built from 1,000+ real SMA sessions at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School.
The curricula, note templates, and resources described on this page were developed by Dr. Jacob Mirsky and his team at Massachusetts General Hospital's Healthy Lifestyle Program and refined through more than 1,000 SMA sessions delivered by 20 primary care providers. These are not pilot program materials or AI-generated slide decks; they are time-tested materials that have been continuously refined through real-world clinical use since 2020.
Published research on these programs has demonstrated self-reported improvements in a wide range of behaviors, high levels of patient satisfaction, reductions in home blood pressure readings, and more (see research findings below).
SMA programs across the world can now license these materials directly from Mass General Brigham to efficiently launch or scale their own SMA programming using evidence-based time-tested content.
Research Findings from MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program SMA
What the Research Shows: The MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program SMA curricula have been studied in peer-reviewed research, with findings published in multiple journals. Here are some highlights:
Blood Pressure Reductions
(Mirsky et al., 2022)
Patients completing the Hypertension SMA series showed meaningful reductions in home blood pressure readings — without increasing medication burden.
Medication De-prescribing
(Mirsky et al., 2022)
The program enabled providers to safely reduce or eliminate medications for a significant proportion of participants, a rare outcome in chronic disease management.
Healthy Behavior Changes
(Mirsky et al., 2023)
Participants reported self-assessed improvements across multiple health behaviors, including diet, physical activity, and stress management.
Publications
Journal: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Year: 2022
Key Finding: Virtual SMA, coupled with Health and Wellness Coaching and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring, are associated with improved blood pressure control and medication deprescribing.
Journal: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Year: 2024
Key Finding: Sustained reductions in antihypertensive medication regimens two years after completing a virtual SMA series on hypertension.
Journal: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Year: 2023
Key Finding: Virtual SMA programming are associated with a wide range of self-reported healthy behavior changes including eating healthier, increasing physical activity, and losing weight.
Journal: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Year: 2024
Key Finding: Virtual SMA are attended by patients interested in focusing on healthy lifestyle changes and 98% of respondents who attended at least 5 sessions indicated they would recommend the programming to friends or family.
Journal: Preventive Medicine Reports
Year: 2025
Key Finding: Virtual SMA are attended by a diverse patient population, with higher enrollment and attendance in older patients and female patients.
More Free SMA Curricula: Here are two additional free curricula developed by other leading programs:
SLIM Curriculum (UC San Diego Health)
Full Plate Living (Ardmore Institute of Health)