Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners

Lifestyle medicine (LM) is a rapidly emerging clinical discipline that focuses on intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes to treat chronic disease, often producing dramatic health benefits. In spite of these well-documented benefits of LM approaches to provide evidence-based care that follows curren...

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Autores principales:	Kelly J. Freeman, Meagan L. Grega, Susan M. Friedman, Padmaja M. Patel, Ron W. Stout, Thomas M. Campbell, Michelle L. Tollefson, Liana S. Lianov, Kaitlyn R. Pauly, Kathryn J. Pollard, Micaela C. Karlsen
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	lifestyle medicine reimbursement quality measures healthcare policy intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes person-centered care Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0569f1abae55439bbd95d9ff50a9ced0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0569f1abae55439bbd95d9ff50a9ced02021-11-11T16:44:16ZLifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners10.3390/ijerph1821116321660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/0569f1abae55439bbd95d9ff50a9ced02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11632https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601Lifestyle medicine (LM) is a rapidly emerging clinical discipline that focuses on intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes to treat chronic disease, often producing dramatic health benefits. In spite of these well-documented benefits of LM approaches to provide evidence-based care that follows current clinical guidelines, LM practitioners have found reimbursement challenging. The objectives of this paper are to present the results of a cross-sectional survey of LM practitioners regarding lifestyle medicine reimbursement and to propose policy priorities related to the ability of practitioners to implement and achieve reimbursement for these necessary services. Results from a closed, online survey in 2019 were analyzed, with a total of <i>n</i> = 857 included in this analysis. Results were descriptively analyzed. This manuscript articulates policy proposals informed by the survey results. The study sample was 58% female, with median age of 51. A minority of the sample (17%) reported that all their practice was LM, while 56% reported that some of their practice was LM. A total of 55% of practitioners reported not being able to receive reimbursement for LM practice. Of those survey respondents who provided an answer to the question of what would make the practice of LM easier (<i>n</i> = 471), the following suggestions were offered: reimbursement overall (18%), reimbursement for more time spent with patients (17%), more support from leadership (16%), policy measures to incentivize health (13%), education in LM for practitioners (11%), LM-specific billing codes and billing knowledge along with better electronic medical record (EMR) capabilities and streamlined reporting/paperwork (11%), and reimbursement for the extended care team (10%). Proposed policy changes focus on three areas of focus: (1) support for the care process using a LM approach, (2) reimbursement emphasizing outcomes of health, patient experience, and delivering person-centered care, and (3) incentivizing treatment that produces disease remission/reversal. Rectifying reimbursement barriers to lifestyle medicine practice will require a sustained effort from health systems and policy makers. The urgency of this transition towards lifestyle medicine interventions to effectively address the epidemic of chronic diseases in a way that can significantly improve outcomes is being hindered by current reimbursement policies and models.Kelly J. FreemanMeagan L. GregaSusan M. FriedmanPadmaja M. PatelRon W. StoutThomas M. CampbellMichelle L. TollefsonLiana S. LianovKaitlyn R. PaulyKathryn J. PollardMicaela C. KarlsenMDPI AGarticlelifestyle medicinereimbursementquality measureshealthcare policyintensive therapeutic lifestyle changesperson-centered careMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11632, p 11632 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	lifestyle medicine reimbursement quality measures healthcare policy intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes person-centered care Medicine R
spellingShingle	lifestyle medicine reimbursement quality measures healthcare policy intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes person-centered care Medicine R Kelly J. Freeman Meagan L. Grega Susan M. Friedman Padmaja M. Patel Ron W. Stout Thomas M. Campbell Michelle L. Tollefson Liana S. Lianov Kaitlyn R. Pauly Kathryn J. Pollard Micaela C. Karlsen Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
description	Lifestyle medicine (LM) is a rapidly emerging clinical discipline that focuses on intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes to treat chronic disease, often producing dramatic health benefits. In spite of these well-documented benefits of LM approaches to provide evidence-based care that follows current clinical guidelines, LM practitioners have found reimbursement challenging. The objectives of this paper are to present the results of a cross-sectional survey of LM practitioners regarding lifestyle medicine reimbursement and to propose policy priorities related to the ability of practitioners to implement and achieve reimbursement for these necessary services. Results from a closed, online survey in 2019 were analyzed, with a total of <i>n</i> = 857 included in this analysis. Results were descriptively analyzed. This manuscript articulates policy proposals informed by the survey results. The study sample was 58% female, with median age of 51. A minority of the sample (17%) reported that all their practice was LM, while 56% reported that some of their practice was LM. A total of 55% of practitioners reported not being able to receive reimbursement for LM practice. Of those survey respondents who provided an answer to the question of what would make the practice of LM easier (<i>n</i> = 471), the following suggestions were offered: reimbursement overall (18%), reimbursement for more time spent with patients (17%), more support from leadership (16%), policy measures to incentivize health (13%), education in LM for practitioners (11%), LM-specific billing codes and billing knowledge along with better electronic medical record (EMR) capabilities and streamlined reporting/paperwork (11%), and reimbursement for the extended care team (10%). Proposed policy changes focus on three areas of focus: (1) support for the care process using a LM approach, (2) reimbursement emphasizing outcomes of health, patient experience, and delivering person-centered care, and (3) incentivizing treatment that produces disease remission/reversal. Rectifying reimbursement barriers to lifestyle medicine practice will require a sustained effort from health systems and policy makers. The urgency of this transition towards lifestyle medicine interventions to effectively address the epidemic of chronic diseases in a way that can significantly improve outcomes is being hindered by current reimbursement policies and models.
format	article
author	Kelly J. Freeman Meagan L. Grega Susan M. Friedman Padmaja M. Patel Ron W. Stout Thomas M. Campbell Michelle L. Tollefson Liana S. Lianov Kaitlyn R. Pauly Kathryn J. Pollard Micaela C. Karlsen
author_facet	Kelly J. Freeman Meagan L. Grega Susan M. Friedman Padmaja M. Patel Ron W. Stout Thomas M. Campbell Michelle L. Tollefson Liana S. Lianov Kaitlyn R. Pauly Kathryn J. Pollard Micaela C. Karlsen
author_sort	Kelly J. Freeman
title	Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
title_short	Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
title_full	Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
title_fullStr	Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
title_full_unstemmed	Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
title_sort	lifestyle medicine reimbursement: a proposal for policy priorities informed by a cross-sectional survey of lifestyle medicine practitioners
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/0569f1abae55439bbd95d9ff50a9ced0
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Lifestyle Medicine Reimbursement: A Proposal for Policy Priorities Informed by a Cross-Sectional Survey of Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners

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