The American College of Lifestyle Medicine has launched a new searchable online directory to help patients identify and connect with physicians in their communities who are certified in the fast-growing field of lifestyle medicine. . The physician directory is located at www.lifestylemedpros.org.
Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. There are six pillars of lifestyle medicine: a predominantly plant-based, whole-food eating pattern, regular physical activity, restful sleep, stress management, avoidance of hazardous substances, and positive social connection. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes and 40 percent of cancer could be prevented, primarily through improvements in diet and lifestyle.
Since the first lifestyle medicine certification exam was conducted in 2017, the number of certified diplomates has grown to 2,004 physicians and 778 non-physician health professionals. Certification means physicians have completed a minimum of 30 hours of lifestyle medicine continuing education (CE/CME), gathered at least 10 hours of CE/CME in person from a lifestyle medicine conference, and passed rigorous certification exams.
However, it is often a challenge for patients to easily determine which doctors in their areas are certified to practice lifestyle medicine. ACLM’s new “Find a Lifestyle Medicine Doctor” directory allows patients to filter their searches by radius of distance from an address or ZIP code and by type of doctor, such as lifestyle medicine doctors or other practitioners of lifestyle medicine health, lifestyle medicine trainers, international lifestyle medicine doctors or lifestyle medicine intensivists.
Physicians are increasingly adopting lifestyle medicine as the foundation of all medical care and patients are growing weary of only addressing the symptoms of chronic disease with increasingly expensive drugs and procedures instead of addressing root causes of their illnesses. The new ACLM Directory of Health Care Professionals Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine is a useful resource to help connect patients with physicians recognized for achieving high proficiency in prescribing and supporting behavioral lifestyle interventions evidence based. Everyone deserves access to the therapeutic benefits of lifestyle medicine, and this directory is another important step in expanding that access to people whose health can greatly benefit.”
Cate Collings, MD, FACC, MS, DipABLM, ACLM President
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American College of Lifestyle Medicine
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