"As soon as I mention shared medical appointments, everybody pictures a room full of people in their underwear," says Dr. Richard Kratche, a family physician at the Cleveland Clinic. Actually, most people could picture a lot worse, but despite that, Kratche is one of a growing number of doctors who conduct group visits for routine physicals--and his patients are part of a growing number of folks who are fine with that.
Since 2005, the percentage of U.S. family-medicine practices offering group visits has doubled, from 6% to 13%. And with major provisions of the Affordable Care Act set to be implemented...