What if visiting your family doctor also meant learning from other patients facing similar health challenges?

A new peer-reviewed article published in Canadian Family Physician explores how patient groups could improve health outcomes, strengthen patient participation, and help family doctors deliver care more efficiently.

The article, titled ‘Family Medicine Meets Participation Science: Case for Including Patient Groups in Family Practice’, is led by Prof. Neil Andersson and his PRAM colleagues Prof. Cockcroft and Ivan Sarmiento, and co-authored by other scholars from the McGill University’s Department of Family Medicine, four FMER Researchers included: Drs. Ariane Courville-Le Bouyonnec, Keith F. Todd, Roland Grand, and Charo Rodriguez.

What are patient groups?

Patient groups bring together people who share similar health conditions or experiences. Rather than relying exclusively on individual appointments, patients can participate in group sessions led by healthcare professionals.

These sessions may include health education, discussions about treatment options, practical strategies for managing health conditions, and opportunities to learn from others.

For example, patients managing diabetes or high blood pressure might meet regularly with a healthcare professional to discuss challenges, share experiences, and develop strategies for managing their conditions.

What does the research tell us?

The authors highlight existing research showing benefits of group-based care across several areas, including diabetes, hypertension, pregnancy, cardiac rehabilitation, depression, and chronic pain.

Patient groups can improve health outcomes, increase satisfaction with care, and provide valuable social support. Research also suggests that group appointments may help reduce physician burnout and improve job satisfaction.

Beyond these practical benefits, the article explores how learning alongside others may encourage patients to participate more actively in healthcare decisions, build confidence, and develop stronger self-management skills.

A practical opportunity for Canadian healthcare

With family medicine facing increasing demands, patient groups offer an opportunity to make better use of limited healthcare resources.

Importantly, the authors do not suggest replacing individual appointments. Instead, they propose combining group-based care with traditional one-on-one visits, allowing patients to benefit from shared learning while continuing to receive personalized medical attention.

The article also highlights the value of trusted digital health resources and recommends that family medicine training programs incorporate group facilitation and patient participation into medical education.

By bringing patients together as active participants in their care, group-based approaches could help create a more collaborative, supportive, and sustainable model of family medicine.

Read the full article: Family Medicine Meets Participation Science

Published in Canadian Family Physician, October 2026.