A visit to a Cone Health doctor soon may be more about avoiding illness than treating it.
Greensboro– Cone Health providers, including physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and others, will soon have the opportunity to update their knowledge on the links between behaviors, nutrition and chronic disease. This continuing medical education will teach new, but tried and tested approaches to patient care. The Greensboro-based health network won an educational grant to train health professionals in “lifestyle medicine.” 
Lifestyle medicine is a relatively new concept aimed at preventing many common chronic health problems. Up to 80% of chronic disease can be avoided by eating smarter, moving more, sleeping more soundly, managing stress, developing healthy relationships, and avoiding drugs and alcohol. Chronic diseases are long-term conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. They are among the most expensive health problems to manage.
Lifestyle medicine also fits with Cone Health’s growing emphasis on health and wellness. “This represents a paradigm shift in medicine. Medical education empowers providers to find and fix the problems that cause poor health,” says Dr. Martin Portillo, president of Cone Health Medical Group. “Most providers receive little or no training in lifestyle modification or nutrition, steps that can prevent many health problems in the first place. This program will fill those gaps and our patients will benefit.”
The Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Essential Medicine grant provides Cone Health Medical Group providers with $330,000 in education. Much of the focus will be on nutrition and lifestyle modification. “When it comes to our health, we are often our own worst enemy,” says Dr. Gebreselassie Nida, who runs the program at Cone Health. “But no one has more interest in your health than you. And this training will bring our providers there with you as a true partner in your health.”
This summer, Cone Health became one of the more than 80 founding members of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Council on Health Systems.
Source: news.google.com