Cost:Â Member: $35 | Students: $15 | Non-member: $65
Abstract: Chronic disease is often very treatable with diet and lifestyle change but creating that change can be a challenge. In the end, doctors can’t do it for their patients and, furthermore, we can’t blame our patients when they don’t have the support they need to succeed. Sometimes it takes a village, and it seems that fewer people than ever have a village to lean on. Group medical visits change this by creating a spontaneous community for social connection and support, while also providing adequate time for real learning to happen and leveraging a business model that makes it a viable solution for any practice. Sound good? Systematic reviews find this model cost effective, with greater doctor and patient satisfaction and delivering superior outcomes with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes than 1-on-1 visits. In this talk, Dr. Greg Yasuda will present his group medical visit model called Foundations 360 that he launched at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, WA, in winter 2025 and was expanded to the Bastyr University Clinic in San Diego, CA, in 2026. You will learn how the program is structured and why, what some of the most important takeaways have been, and you will also be provided with guidance and resources about how to build your own group program. While group visits do not replace 1-on-1 visits, they fill a critical need in the medical landscape and are an ideal vehicle for naturopathic medicine.
Presenter Bio:Â Dr. Greg Yasuda graduated from Bastyr University in 2003 and has been a faculty member there since 2008. In 2016, he delivered a keynote on Belonging for the Bastyr faculty development retreat and has lectured on the topic in philosophy courses, grand rounds, and conferences since. He sees belongingness as a fundamental need that impacts our thoughts, behaviors and every aspect of our being. In a continued effort to better address this social determinant of health, he created a group medical visit shift at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, Washington, in 2025, enabling patients and students to meet together as a group to teach and learn about how to cultivate health together. This program has been successful and popular among students and patients alike and is being expanded to Bastyr's San Diego, California, campus in 2026.