The SMA Resource Library

Research on SMA / GMV

The studies below represent the strongest evidence base across the most common SMA applications, personally curated by Dr. Mirsky from 30+ years of published research. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a practical starting point for clinicians, researchers, and administrators building the evidence case for SMA in their setting. Conditions with published SMA research beyond those listed below include dermatology, geriatrics, hepatology, mind-body medicine, neurology, pain medicine, palliative care, prenatal care, psychiatry, substance use disorders, and women's health.

• General: The foundational literature on SMA design, effectiveness, and implementation — a good starting point for anyone new to the evidence base.

  • Adopting Innovations in Care Delivery — The Case of Shared Medical Appointments

  • Shared medical appointments: A promising response to escalating demand for healthcare

  • Effectiveness of shared medical appointments delivered in primary care for improving health outcomes in patients with long-term conditions: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

  • The “Nuts and Bolts” of Implementing Shared Medical Appointments: The Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Experience

  • Shared Medical Appointments for Chronic Medical Conditions: A Systematic Review

  • Group Visits: A Qualitative Review of Current Research

  • A realist review of shared medical appointments: How, for whom, and under what circumstances do they work?

  • What is the evidence for the effectiveness, appropriateness and feasibility of group clinics for patients with chronic conditions? A systematic review

  • Shared medical appointments: Increasing patient access without increasing physician hours

  • Patients could share virtual medical appointments for better access to telemedicine

  • Group Medical Care: A Systematic Review of Health Service Performance

  • Patients’ and providers’ satisfaction with shared medical appointments

  • Effectiveness of a Group Outpatient Visit Model for Chronically Ill Older Health Maintenance Organization Members: A 2-Year Randomized Trial of the Cooperative Health Care Clinic

• Obesity: A topic of growing importance with the growing demands on primary care providers and obesity medicine specialists.

  • Obesity: Are shared medical appointments part of the answer?

  • Shared medical appointments for weight loss: a systematic review

  • Shared Medical Appointments: Promoting Weight Loss in a Clinical Setting

  • Implementation of a virtual, shared medical appointment program that focuses on food as medicine principles in a population with obesity: the SLIM program

• Hypertension: One of the most well-studied applications for SMA, with strong evidence for blood pressure reduction and medication optimization.

  • Impact of a Shared Medical Appointment on Hypertension Clinical Outcomes and Medication Adherence in a Veterans Affairs Health Care System

  • Hypertension Control and Medication Titration Associated With Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

  • Group Visits in the Management of Diabetes and Hypertension: Effect on Glycemic and Blood Pressure Control

  • Heart on hypertension: Improving hypertension control in the FQHC setting through a group visit program

  • Behavior changes in patients with diabetes and hypertension after experiencing shared medical appointments

  • Our Whole Lives for Hypertension and Cardiac Risk Factors—Combining a Teaching Kitchen Group Visit With a Web-Based Platform: Feasibility Trial

• Diabetes: The largest body of SMA research of any single condition, with studies ranging from glycemic control to cost-effectiveness and implementation fidelity.

  • Shared Medical Appointments for Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

  • Evaluating Effects of Virtual Diabetes Group Visits in Community Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • What works in implementing shared medical appointments for patients with diabetes in primary care to enhance reach: a qualitative comparative analysis from the Invested in Diabetes study

  • Formative evaluation and adaptation of pre-and early implementation of diabetes shared medical appointments to maximize sustainability and adoption

  • Comparative Effectiveness of Patient‑Driven versus Standardized Diabetes Shared Medical Appointments: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial

  • Group Visits in the Management of Diabetes and Hypertension: Effect on Glycemic and Blood Pressure Control

  • Delivering diabetes shared medical appointments in primary care: early and mid‑program adaptations and implications for successful implementation

  • Costs and Health Care Utilization Analysis of Medical Group Visits for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes in Community Health Centers

  • Using the RE‑AIM framework to evaluate the impact of shared medical appointments for diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta‑analysis

• Congestive Heart Failure: An emerging area with growing evidence for SMA as a post-acute and chronic management tool.

  • Shared Medical Appointments in Heart Failure for Post Acute Care Follow-Up: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  • A Description of Patient and Provider Experience and Clinical Outcomes After Heart Failure Shared Medical Appointment

  • Implementing shared medical appointments for heart failure patients in a community cardiology practice: A pilot study

  • Training providers to implement heart failure shared medical appointments: A qualitative evaluation

  • Healthcare providers experiences with shared medical appointments for heart failure

• Oncology: One of the most innovative fields to adapt SMA to meet the many challenges in the field.

  • Implementation of Virtual Integrative Oncology Shared Medical Appointment Series (VIOSMAS) Within Mixed Diagnosis Population

  • Fighting Cancer Together: Development and Implementation of Shared Medical Appointments to Standardize and Improve Chemotherapy Education

  • Shared Medical Appointments in Cancer Survivorship Care: A Review of the Literature

  • Lifestyle Medicine-Focused Shared Medical Appointments to Improve Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors

• Lifestyle Medicine: A home for SMA growth and development over the past 20 years.

  • Lifestyle Medicine Shared Medical Appointments: A proposed framework for high value chronic disease care

  • The Art and Science of Group Visits in Lifestyle Medicine

  • Lifestyle Medicine Shared Medical Appointments

  • Patient Perspectives on Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits

  • A nutrition and lifestyle‑focused shared medical appointment in a resource‑challenged community setting: a mixed‑methods study

• Culinary Medicine: A newer and exciting frontier for SMA that integrates cooking and nutrition education as core clinical interventions.

  • Design, Implementation, and Feasibility of a Community Co-Led Culinary Medicine Shared Medical Appointment Model

  • Culinary Medicine: Bringing Healthcare Into the Kitchen