Going to the GP isn't necessarily a one-to-one thing any more.

You could be in a group of patients who share a health issue, and listen as a single doctor sees each person one after the other.

It's called a shared medical appointment and it's just starting to be used in New Zealand.

"Not everybody's going to love [it]," Health Te Aroha GP-owner Dr Hayley Scott said. "It's not the place to go and have your smear test done. I think it's about providing options."

About 50 Health Te Aroha patients have tried a shared appointment since late 2018 - including people with type two diabetes, or on blood tests for women needing to lose weight.

The style of working is more common in America and Australia, though New Zealand practices including Mercury Bay and Taupō Medical Centres use them.

For one medical leader its an exciting innovation, another considers it a band-aid solution.

Health Te Aroha has been trialling the appointments since late 2018 and about 50 patients have experienced it.

Once a diabetic patient came up to Scott after a session and said they finally understood why they had to control their blood sugar.

She sees potential in this format for mental health, whānau groups, or for mums and babies, "like a medical coffee group".

People seem to absorb more information and the peer support is powerful.

For example, Scott saw impressive weight losses in a group of women who got together outside a consult for chats and exercise.

Another convert is Te Aroha man David G King, who has had type two diabetes for about 20 years.

"With the one-on-one situation I'd become rather jaded, because of having done it so many times and not seeming to get anywhere," he said.

"With a shared environment of having that extra interaction with other people and the fact that it's not just the quick 15-minute doctor's appointment ... that allows time to discuss things."

Health Te Aroha's sessions have up to six patients and last about an hour and half, but cost the same as a regular consultation.

Confidentiality is emphasised, and a medical centre assistant helps run the appointment.

Consults with the GP are in front of the others, but patients can have a private examination if required or be pulled aside afterwards for more personal matters.

While it's more work to set group appointments up, Scott finds the system less draining than a series of 15-minute slots and said it builds a better rapport.

Shared appointments lend themselves to long-term conditions and they're cutting edge for New Zealand, Royal College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty said.

"I think it's really exciting that general practitioners and general practice is actually pushing the boundaries around this type of intervention. It's not for everyone nor is going to be the bulk of what goes on ... but to have different ways of doing things, I think, is really exciting."

It's not about cost, he said, but rather about finding better ways to serve patients.

But Dr Jan White sees shared appointments as a "one disease, band aid" solution which loses the holistic nature of a one-to-one consultation.

A doctor visit for diabetes might also lead to a smear test or prostate check, the NZ Medical Association GP council chair said, or a patient may mention that their partner is drinking too much.

She doesn't think doctors can do an adequate consultation in a group setting and sees shared appointments as more of an education session.

A Ministry of Health statement said it supported GPs to work out what services best suit their patients' needs.

"It is important that Shared Medical Appointments are voluntary, that robust processes are in place to ensure patient confidentiality and that patients have given their informed consent to take part."

Reasons the appointments aren't more common include a lack of "rigorous scientific evidence" and also support for practices which want to use the model, Health Navigator says.