Large health organizations leverage training packages to accelerate lifestyle medicine into care delivery 

Insurers like Humana and Blue Cross Blue Shield, health systems and even the U.S. military are utilizing organizational training bundles from ACLM to equip their healthcare teams with the skills and resources they need to practice lifestyle medicine and help patients restore their health.  

Major health systems, health plans and even the U.S. military are increasingly investing in large-scale training opportunities to prepare their physicians and health professionals to incorporate evidence-based lifestyle medicine into patient care.  

More than 35 organizations, including Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and New York Health + Hospitals, have partnered with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) to utilize lifestyle medicine organizational training packages. The U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army have done the same.  

The urgent emphasis on lifestyle medicine stems from the realization that the traditional model of healthcare that manages the symptoms of chronic disease through ever-increasing quantities of pharmaceuticals and risky procedures is failing. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians use therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a first-line treatment to address the root cause of chronic disease, with the clinical outcome goal of health restoration. Lifestyle medicine is aligned with the quintuple aim of better health outcomes, reduced costs, improved patient and clinician satisfaction and advancement of health equity. 

Humana, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, announced a partnership with ACLM in 2022 to advance lifestyle medicine training to all healthcare professionals contracted by Humana nationwide.  

“We are committed to supporting access to high-quality care and improving the health for all of our members and patients,” said Humana Chief Medical Officer Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS. “Motivating lifestyle change is critical in preventing and treating chronic diseases, like diabetes. This partnership will ensure our clinicians receive evidence-based lifestyle change and behavioral motivation training to treat chronic disease more effectively.” 

Team-based care 

Clinicians who are individually trained in lifestyle medicine bring enormous value to healthcare teams. But organizational lifestyle medicine training can equip every member of the team with lifestyle medicine skills that support coordinated, whole-person care. 

Consider a patient who receives a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. An entire healthcare team trained in lifestyle medicine is available to support dietary recommendations, practical strategies for increasing physical activity and managing stress. Such a unified approach can help patients make sustainable changes, leading to better outcomes and reduced reliance on pharmaceuticals, 

Since certification began in 2017 by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, almost 6,700 physicians and health professionals have become board certified in lifestyle medicine globally. 

Speaking the same language 

The U.S. Air Force Medical Service care strategy starts by addressing the patient’s personal health goals, identifying what is most important to the patient, and by developing a treatment plan that includes addressing the pillars of lifestyle medicine. The healthcare team may include primary care physicians, dietitians, exercise physiologists, physical therapists, and behavioral health specialists, as well as other specialty providers trained in lifestyle medicine. 

“It is different than what we have done in the past where the primary care provider will see the patient, recommend the patient see a specialist who may not have any training in lifestyle medicine, and both provide a treatment plan that is more in line with traditional medicine,” said U.S. Air Force Col. (Ret) Mary Anne Kiel, MD, FAAP, FACLM, DipABLM, CP. “We want providers speaking the same language about the treatment plan through lifestyle medicine foundations to better address the patient’s personal health goals. This new approach provides a more impactful way to sustain health and readiness.” 

Reducing burnout 

Integrating lifestyle medicine into health systems and practices may also help boost clinician well-being and satisfaction. A 2023 study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found the more that lifestyle medicine clinicians were able to incorporate lifestyle medicine into their medical practices, the less likely they were to experience burnout. 

Improved self-care, such as incorporating lifestyle behavior changes into their own lives, was among the top reasons reported for reduced experiences of burnout. One respondent to the survey reported that in addition to helping patients make lifestyle changes “I also implemented my own lifestyle medicine changes–increased physical activity, switched to plant-based diet, and managed stress better.”  

Leaders at University Hospitals (UH) in Cleveland cited the potential benefit on workforce well-being in 2023 when they announced an initiative to provide lifestyle medicine training to their 32,000 employees.  

“Taking care of others starts with taking care of ourselves. Health is one of our most precious gifts, and in healthcare we know it should never be taken for granted,” said University Hospitals Health System Chief Whole Health & Well-being Office Francoise Adan, MD, who also serves as UH’s Christopher M. & Sara H. Connor chair in Integrative Health, and director, UH Connor Whole Health. 

Lifestyle medicine educational resources 

ACLM offers an extensive inventory of expert-led courses across the education spectrum, including CME/CE courses and materials for preparing for and maintaining certification. ACLM’s large-scale organizational training packages start with a minimum purchase of training resources for 10 individuals. These packages can be customized to align with an organization’s specific needs and goals, ensuring that the training is targeted and impactful. Plus, organizations that purchase 10 or more resources are eligible for discounts, making it more cost-effective to invest in professional development. 

Organizations have partnered with ACLM on bundles that included 175 “Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine Board Review” (LMBR) courses. The LMBR, a prerequisite for the the ACLM and American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) certification exam, is a 350-page board review manual with 10 sections, 12 online review lectures by lifestyle medicine experts and 180 review questions. The course provides 30 hours of CME/CE and is a comprehensive course that builds a foundation for practicing lifestyle medicine. ACLM’s Question Bank, a compilation of 200 practice questions is designed to help prepare clinicians for the lifestyle medicine certification exam and support maintenance of certification. 

Other courses available for organizational training packages include ACLM’s “Physician and Health Professional Well-Being,” Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine,” “Food as Medicine,” “Lifestyle Medicine for Coaches” and “Remission of Type 2 Diabetes and Reversal of Insulin Resistance Certificate Course,” as well as packages for ACLM membership and annual conference registrations.