American College of Lifestyle Medicine
The published statement is intended to raise awareness of the benefits of lifestyle medicine in primary care and help clinicians implement lifestyle medicine to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — A multidisciplinary panel assembled by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has published an expert consensus statement that defines the implementation of lifestyle medicine in primary care. The intention of this statement is to support clinicians in helping patients achieve optimal health outcomes in primary care settings.
The study, published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, is another important advancement for the practice of lifestyle medicine, a fast-growing medical specialty that uses therapeutic‥lifestyle‥interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions‥including,‥but not limited to,‥cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. No other expert panel has described the integration of lifestyle medicine into primary care.
«It is my hope that this expert consensus statement publication raises awareness of the unique aspects of integrating lifestyle medicine into primary care and helps inform clinicians as they transition to a delivery model that places lifestyle medicine at the foundation of all healthcare.»
A lifestyle medicine approach to primary care – where disease risk factors and symptoms are often first detected – could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Evaluation and management of chronic disease accounts for about 80% of medical encounters, largely due to lifestyle choices that influence eight of the top 10 causes of mortality, the statement noted. Lifestyle medicine aligns with many of the recommendations in the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2021 report «Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care.«
«This panel of experts from diverse backgrounds agreed on many key aspects of lifestyle medicine that can be incorporated into the primary care setting to achieve improved quality and outcomes, while also identifying benefits such as decreased health-related costs and enhanced patient and clinician satisfaction,» said Meagan Grega, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, chair of the expert panel. «It is my hope that this expert consensus statement publication raises awareness of the unique aspects of integrating lifestyle medicine into primary care and helps inform clinicians as they transition to a delivery model that places lifestyle medicine at the foundation of all healthcare.»
The expert panel of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, a clinical psychologist and other health professionals who practice lifestyle medicine used a modified Delphi Survey to achieve the criteria for consensus on 65 statements, which were divided into 10 categories:
-Integration of lifestyle medicine into primary care
-Delivery models
-Provider education
-Evidence base for lifestyle medicine
-Vital signs
-Treatment
-Resource referral and reimbursement
-Patient, family and community involvement; shared decision-making
-Social determinates of health and health equity
-Barriers to lifestyle medicine