EHE International endorses lifestyle medicine competencies

EHE International, a nationally recognized leader in preventive medicine, has endorsed the recently released set of physician competencies for prescribing lifestyle medicine. These competencies, suggested for primary care physicians, exemplify what EHE International has always practiced and encouraged.

The physician competencies were developed by an expert panel of physicians and members of leading medical associations and were published by American College of Preventive Medicine representatives Drs. Liana Lianov and Mark Johnson in a commentary in the July 14^th issue of JAMA.

The competencies state that physicians need to have the leadership, knowledge and skills to effectively motivate patients to make lifestyle changes.

"With lifestyle issues continuing to have a negative effect on the health of Americans, it is incumbent upon all healthcare practitioners to understand this relationship and to take those steps necessary to influence a patient's choices toward healthy behaviors," said Dr. Susan Spear, Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at EHE International. "These Lifestyle Medicine Competencies provide a structured approach for primary care physicians to embrace behavior change as an important component of overall patient care and we encourage their use," Dr. Spear added.

"This is a landmark event. The principles of lifestyle medicine are foundational to health promotion, disease prevention and chronic disease management, yet we believe this is the first time that a comprehensive group of physician stakeholders has met to determine what it is that primary care practice should know about this vital aspect of modern medicine," said Dr. Mark Johnson, JAMA commentary co-author and ACPM President.

Dr. Johnson also said: "We are delighted to see that EHE International has endorsed the lifestyle medicine competencies. This is not surprising, given EHE's long history as a national leader in patient-centered, preventive care management and its lifestyle-oriented, team management approach to facilitating behavior change and risk reduction." 

Source EHE International