Lifestyle Medicine Update: March 2011

It is an exciting time to be on the cutting edge of the Lifestyle Medicine movement!  The pace of progress is increasing rapidly.  This month we are sharing with you some of the highlights of that progress as they happened in and around ACLM’s annual conference Lifestyle Medicine 2011.

Thank-You ACPM
We especially wish to convey a big thank-you to the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM).  While we have worked with them the last couple years on the Lifestyle Medicine track, this was the first year that we had a much more substantial role and a resulting offering that could appropriately be called Lifestyle Medicine 2011.  Thank-you Mark Johnson, ACPM Immediate-Past President, and Mike Barry, ACPM Executive Director, and all the others who made this possible.

ACLM-ACPM Affiliation
We also want to announce to you that ACLM is now formally affiliated with ACPM.  This is the result of a year long process that began  with both boards voting to pursue a formal affiliation to better enable Lifestyle Medicine to progress and become established as a valuable and legitimate entity in medicine.  This affiliation is designated as an “academy.”  The process took some time and doing because ACLM is not, and never will be, a typical “academy.”  ACLM remains an autonomous organization with its own governance, decisions, finances, etc, but the two organizations can collaborate more closely in promoting Lifestyle Medicine.  We all need to pull together to really bring Lifestyle Medicine into the prominence that it deserves. 

We thought the best way to give you both a bird’s-eye view and an insider perspective was to have the current, future, and past ACLM President’s share the highlights of Lifestyle Medicine 2011 and things that happened around it from each of their perspectives.

Wayne Dysinger - President

Highlights:
  • The number of people who signed up for the pre-conference workshop - more than double, maybe even triple previous numbers.
  • Seeing the ACLM banner up on the wall behind the platform in the main auditorium.
  • David Katz's opening talk where he said, “There's LIFESTYLE, and there’s everything else.”  That will be an ongoing theme for me.  As well as the emotional connection when he had people raise their hands and remember what it was like having someone they cared about die from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  (David Katz is from the Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, and presented the Opening General Session & KBS Guest Lecture)
  • The ongoing high quality LM sessions, as well as the attendance at those sessions.
  • The news that ACLM and ACPM are now formally partners in this movement.
  • The overall interest in ACLM compared to previous meetings as evidenced by the member meeting and the booth traffic.
  • The successful board meeting where we incorporated new board members and determined new directions.

Liana Lianov - President-Elect

Liana not only has the perspective of the ACLM President-Elect, but has also served as Chair of ACPM’s Lifestyle Medicine Task Force, and chaired the overall program and coordination of Preventive Medicine 2011 and Lifestyle Medicine 2011.

Highlights:
  • The greater number of Lifestyle Medicine sessions, as well as the pre-conference Institute, KBS and plenary presentations focused on Lifestyle Medicine.
  • Lifestyle Medicine was addressed mainly from the clinical perspective, but also included some public policy (tobacco), as well as cutting edge approaches, such as the use of social media for health behavior change to support what we do clinically.
  • The sleep medicine session was the first in many years and was fabulous.
  • The psychosocial determinants of chronic disease was also unusual and relevant, i.e. the need to address psych issues as we look to be effective with the basics of nutrition and physical activity.
  • And of course the announcement that ACLM has been voted in by the ACPM board as an ACPM academy!

Connections Made:
  • Individual who can help us connect with one of the primary care specialty groups with whom we do not yet have a connection (we already have some connections with most).
  • Individual who can liaison with the PA community.
  • We identified interest in developing a standard/consistent Lifestyle Medicine program for residents across residencies that offer Lifestyle Medicine education.
  • We identified a number of additional persons willing to assist with a speaker’s bureau to promote the Lifestyle Medicine Competencies (as published in JAMA) and upcoming trainings.
  • An individual volunteered to develop an AMA resolution highlighting Lifestyle Medicine.
  • Clearly, more than other years, a number of physicians are showing up to the meeting actively looking to develop Lifestyle Medicine-focused practices and are looking for education, tools and business development support.  This is likely due to the ACLM participation in planning the joint meeting this year!
  • Last, but not least, ACLM and ACPM received an invitation by the Surgeon General during the Q&A portion of her presentation to work with her office on Lifestyle Medicine related issues!

Marc Braman - Immediate-Past President/Executive Director

Highlights:
  • It was really good to have an ACLM annual conference again.
  • Big thank-you to ACPM and staff for working with us to make this happen!
  • Getting the ACPM affiliation accomplished.
  • Dramatic increase in Lifestyle Medicine Institute (workshop) attendance, as well as the appreciation of those who attended and are wanting to practice Lifestyle Medicine.
  • Seeing the Lifestyle Medicine sessions regularly packed and overflowing.
  • Two to three times as many people at the ACLM membership meeting this year, and all of them very engaged and passionate about Lifestyle Medicine.
  • Starting to transition from establishing the relationship with ACPM to working together.    ACPM has had a Lifestyle Medicine Task Force for several years.  We are now discussing how we can be more efficient and productive.  Should ACLM manage this combined group and process now? (A large number on this task force are ACLM members anyway.)
  • Seeing behavioral health have more of a presence in Lifestyle Medicine professionally.  The reality of Lifestyle Medicine is that the vast majority of it is psychology/mental health/behavior change.  We are connecting with this community of healthcare providers now.
  • I was struck by how far we have come.  Seeing the ACLM banner on the front wall behind the podium...  Wayne announcing the affiliation with ACPM...  Dean Ornish starting his presentation on “The Power of Lifestyle Medicine” with thanking ACLM and its leaders for the work we are doing in developing Lifestyle Medicine...  William Dietz from the CDC presenting under the ACLM banner...  the US Surgeon General presenting under the ACLM banner and inviting us to work with her office on Lifestyle Medicine....  Wow!  It feels really good!  “We’ve come a long way, Baby!”

Connections:
  • Professionals in media.
  • Suppliers/creators and purchasers/distributors of health information.
  • Movers and shakers of various types and in different areas.
  • Physician leaders requesting Lifestyle Medicine presentations and/or collaboration with ACLM (some even from other countries).
  • Health plan medical directors.
  • Healthcare students who want to take the message of Lifestyle Medicine to student communities.
  • Top experts in Lifestyle Medicine component fields - sleep medicine, nutrition, behavior, etc.
  • And of course, most importantly, physicians (and other providers) seeking to practice Lifestyle Medicine.  Many stopping by the ACLM booth said they had come to the joint conference this year because of the “lifestyle” offerings.  The typical question was, “I want to practice this kind of medicine, how do I do it?”  (Meaning: How do I do it administratively, structurally, financially, etc?)  This is why ACLM exists - to represent, and advocate for, and serve those seeking to practice “Treating The Cause” medicine.

We hope you find this “progress report” inspiring!  We are certainly inspired and affirmed in our confidence that the time for Lifestyle Medicine is now!  Thank-you for being part of this progress.

Note: Stay tuned for announcements on upcoming workshops to meet the practice management needs Lifestyle Medicine physicians and would-be Lifestyle Medicine practitioners have.  We plan to bring together top experts with proven systems and provide all the gory details needed to make Lifestyle Medicine practice work in the real world.