Fingers, Forks and Feet with Rochester Lifestyle Medicine, PLLC
March 2nd, 2016 | ArchiveThe US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 70-80% of the chronic disease that plagues Americans is lifestyle related. A full 90% of our biggest killer, cardiovascular disease, is self-inflicted. In a way, that is good news, because it means that our patients can make huge improvements in their health by changing what they do with their fingers (smoking), forks (diet) and feet (exercise) every day. Studies show that when physicians advise patients to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, to stop smoking, and to increase activity, it makes a difference. This advice is even more effective when the provider is modeling those healthy behaviors him or herself. (After all, would you listen to the advice of a personal trainer who is out of shape?) In the modern health care system, where a provider is seeing a patient every 10 minutes, there is little ability to give these extremely important determinants of health more than lip service. In addition, many patients struggle with making healthy changes on their own. Studies clearly show that intensive group interventions for lifestyle change work best to help people develop healthier habits. Until recently, these types of interventions have either not been available or have not been covered by insurance, making access extremely difficult. This has led many providers to give up even trying to influence patient behavior. Help, however, is on the way.
The Affordable Care Act mandates that insurance now cover, without copay, all grade A or B USPSTF recommendations. USPSTF recommends that every overweight or obese patient with an additional risk factor for heart disease be offered an intensive lifestyle intervention program (Grade B recommendation). This means that intensive lifestyle intervention programs are mandated to be covered without copay for high risk patients. Since two-thirds of the population is now overweight or obese and many, if not most, of these patients have at least one additional risk factor (diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, family history, etc.), there are hundreds of thousands of patients in the greater Rochester area who should be offered (and whose insurance should cover) an intensive lifestyle intervention program. In addition to treating and preventing heart disease, these programs are effective in treating autoimmune diseases, several types of cancer, and multiple other diseases.
Rochester Lifestyle Medicine, PLLC is here to help you help your patients. Lifestyle Medicine is an emerging specialty that focuses on treating the cause of disease rather than its symptoms. Rochester Lifestyle Medicine, PLLC is a newly formed entity created to provide the services your patients need, but which you lack the time to provide. We focus on diet, exercise, stress reduction, improving social support, and taking personal responsibility for health. We provide individual medical assessments to determine lifestyle risks as well as assessment of a patient’s readiness to change. Motivated patients can then enroll in our year-long program called CHIP Revolution. CHIP Revolution begins with a 3-month intensive lifestyle intervention program based on the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) curriculum, which meets once or twice per week. Each of the 18 two-hour sessions starts with a 45 minute entertaining educational video followed by a small group discussion. Lab work and various biometrics will be monitored as patients move through the program. Often patients will need to have medications reduced or eliminated as their sugar levels and blood pressures drop. Close communication will be maintained with the patient’s primary care doctor, who will do all adjustment of medication. Following the initial 3 month period of intensive lifestyle intervention, patients are enrolled in CHAMP (CHIP Alumni Maintenance Program), which includes monthly supportive and educational ClubCHIP meetings, cooking instruction, and occasional reassessment by the lifestyle medicine physician or NP.
In addition to helping people become healthier, intensive lifestyle intervention programs rapidly save the medical system money in terms of less medication, procedures and hospitalizations. Over 60,000 patients have completed CHIP and over 30 peer reviewed studies show its efficacy in terms of health improvement and cost savings. In high risk populations, it pays for itself in less than 6 months. It is also loved by virtually every patient who takes it. CHIP is a proven program that truly achieves the triple aim of simultaneously improving the outcome of the patient, enhancing patient satisfaction and reducing cost of care.
Please refer to the RLM website, roclifemed.com for further information, and be on the lookout for patients who are motivated and would benefit from a lifestyle overhaul. You likely won’t need to look very far!
