The council unites leading risk-bearing entities, including
health systems, health plans, ACOs and large self-funded employers,
in the pursuit of health care transformation achieved through the
Quintuple Aim.
ST.
LOUIS, Mo., June 27,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of
Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has announced the formation of the
Innovators Council, a group of leading risk-bearing entities that
includes health systems, health plans, accountable care
organizations (ACOs) and self-funded employers committed to
achieving health care transformation through the systematic
adoption and implementation of lifestyle medicine at scale.
"We need innovative clinical delivery
models which truly slow and reverse unnecessary disease progression
and its outsized corresponding spend. Lifestyle medicine fulfills
that promise and we are lucky to have a forward-thinking
organization like ACLM at the helm of that movement."
Founding members of the by-invitation council include Humana,
Blue Shield of California, Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Vermont,
Healthly and Lore Health ACO.
The traditional fee-for-service model of health care delivery,
which rewards clinicians for the quantity--not quality--of services
they provide, is not working. Despite the fact that the U.S. spends
more on healthcare than other high-income countries, we continue to
experience declines in both healthspan and lifespan. To improve
patient outcomes and control costs, a fundamental shift is underway
to a value-based model that emphasizes quality and efficiency of
care. Lifestyle medicine, which addresses the root causes of
disease instead of just managing symptoms, delivers high-value,
whole-person care.
Innovators Council members will collaborate to accelerate
systematic transformation by unpacking the complexity of
system-wide adoption and implementation of lifestyle medicine.
Collectively, they will work to improve performance in risk-based
contracts, advance scaled workforce development efforts and explore
novel applications of system-level integration through pilots and
demonstration projects.
ACLM President Beth Frates, MD,
FACLM, DipABLM, called the creation of the Innovators Council a
critical next step for the rapidly evolving field of lifestyle
medicine and the transformation of health care.
"Momentum for value-based care is growing and the evidence shows
that lifestyle medicine has the ability to prevent, treat and even
put into remission many of the costliest and common chronic
diseases," Dr. Frates said.
"As health organizations that assume financial risk in the
course of health care delivery, it is vital that these members of
ACLM's new Innovators Council be a part of the solution to achieve
the Quintuple Aim of improving population health, reducing costs,
enhancing clinician and patient satisfaction and advancing health
equity."
"This is a new era for ACLM," ACLM President-elect Padmaja Patel, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, said. "From
educating health professionals and advocating for a lifestyle
medicine-first approach to healthcare, we now have a unique and
unprecedented opportunity to collaborate with various stakeholders,
including payers and ACOs, to showcase the value of lifestyle
medicine. We are thrilled about the potential of these partnerships
and look forward to working closely with each of them."
Quotes from Founding Members
Ben Quirk, founder and CEO of
Healthly, said "The days of value-based care organizations taking
physicians who are already performing well and giving them risk
contracts are well past us. We need innovative clinical delivery
models which truly slow and reverse unnecessary disease progression
and its outsized corresponding spend. Lifestyle medicine fulfills
that promise and we are lucky to have a forward-thinking
organization like ACLM at the helm of that movement. The Innovators
Council allows us to collaborate with fellow travelers at other
leading organizations looking to break the mold of the broken
health care system."
Tom Weigel, MD, MBA, vice
president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield
Vermont, said "As a member of the American College of Lifestyle
Medicine Innovators Council, Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont is
dedicated to advancing the principles of lifestyle medicine to
promote sustainable health and wellness. The recent rise in the use
of GLP-1 weight loss medications underscores the urgent need for
effective obesity management strategies. While these drugs can be
beneficial, they often come with significant costs and potential
side effects. Lifestyle medicine offers a powerful alternative, not
only aiding in weight loss but also enhancing overall well-being,
reducing the risk of chronic diseases, and empowering individuals
to take control of their health. Our commitment to lifestyle
medicine reflects our belief in its transformative potential to
create lasting, positive impacts on our members' lives."
Mark Briesacher, MD, senior vice
president at Lore Health ACO, said "We share ACLM's goals of making
it easier for clinicians to practice lifestyle medicine and making
lifestyle medicine treatments more accessible for people of all
backgrounds. Our biggest successes have come when we can get the
incentives aligned so that everyone—payers, clinicians, patients,
and pharma/device suppliers—wins when lifestyle medicine is used as
a treatment. The ACLM Innovators Council is a place where all of
these stakeholders can come together and find ways to do so."
Alex Ding, MD, Humana associate
vice president for physician strategy and medical affairs, said
"Humana is proud to be a founding member of the ACLM Innovators
Council. The Council serves as a convener of key stakeholders to
collaborate, co-develop and implement lifestyle medicine programs
at scale. This acceleration of lifestyle medicine is an important
driver toward re-focusing our health system to truly focus on
patient health, prevention, and wellness."
Angie Kalousek Ebrahimi, senior
director of Lifestyle Medicine at Blue Shield of California, said "Blue Shield has long
recognized the transformative potential of lifestyle medicine in
reshaping healthcare delivery in our nation. Assembling thought
leaders through the ACLM Innovators Council is a pivotal tool for
future collaboration and innovation. We are confident that the
relationships formed through the Council will expedite and unify
the process of introducing valuable, solution-based approaches to
the market, enhancing the well-being of our members and other
Americans."
Jessica Rigler, staff vice
president for population health and innovation at Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Arizona said "Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Arizona is proud to
be part of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Innovators
Council and collaborate with other leaders in the field of
lifestyle medicine. As an organization that serves over 2 million
Arizonans, we recognize the importance of addressing the root
causes of chronic diseases and empowering our members and our
communities to make healthy choices that improve their quality of
life. By partnering with ACLM, we hope to advance the
evidence-based practice of lifestyle medicine and make it more
accessible and affordable for our members and communities."
To learn more about the Innovators Council, visit Innovators
Council - American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
About ACLM®
Serving as a transformation catalyst, disruptor of the status quo,
and a galvanized force for change, the American College of
Lifestyle Medicine is the nation's medical professional society
advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a
redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system,
essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole person health.
ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its
members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease
by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping
void of lifestyle medicine—including food as medicine—in medical
education, doing so across the entire medical education continuum,
while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement
strategies. Adding years to lives and life to years, while reining
in the alarming, unsustainable trajectory of healthcare spending,
is what lifestyle medicine delivers.
Media Contact
alex branch, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 9719835383,
abranch@lifestylemedicine.org, https://lifestylemedicine.org/
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/american-college-of-lifestyle-medicine-launches-innovators-council-to-ignite-systematic-adoption-and-implementation-of-lifestyle-medicine-302184783.html
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine