The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has announced the addition of collaborative care innovator Nudj Health to its Lifestyle Medicine Corporate Roundtable. Nudj Health provides the first integrated, whole-person lifestyle medicine program offering continuous care with a clear reimbursement model in the fee-for-service environment.
ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has announced the addition of collaborative care innovator Nudj Health to its Lifestyle Medicine Corporate Roundtable, a group of thought leaders and industry professionals who explore effective clinical innovations, activate marketing strategies, accelerate reimbursement and policy adoption, and pursue research and demonstrations of lifestyle medicine in practice. ACLM launched its Corporate Roundtable in 2016 and it now includes more than 45 active member organizations in the lifestyle medicine ecosystem.
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 29% of adults in the U.S. with a medical condition also have some type of mental health disorder and close to 70% of behavioral health patients have a medical co-morbidity. Additionally, the CDC says each year over $3.4 trillion of U.S. healthcare expenditures - approximately 90% of total costs - are spent on patients with both chronic disease and behavioral health issues. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of integrated behavioral health services in primary and specialty care settings.
Nudj Health delivers integrated, whole-person, and continuous care for patients with chronic disease beyond the walls of the doctor's office, using a collaborative model of evidence-based telehealth interventions centered around six interconnected lifestyle areas: stress management, nutrition, physical activity, sleep quality, social support, and behavioral risks like smoking and alcohol consumption. Nudj delivers its service as an extension of providers and their care teams, integrating mental health and lifestyle interventions that include iterative "nudges" along with remote physiological monitoring.
Using this model, Nudj Health has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and insomnia with scores based on clinically validated rating scales decreasing by 42-52% within 12 weeks. Patients also experienced a reduction or maintenance of blood pressure and weight, improved mobility, improved medication adherence and improved connections with family, community and Nudj Health support systems. Nudj Health provides the first lifestyle medicine program offering continuous care with a clear reimbursement model in the fee-for-service environment.
"We are excited to join the ACLM Corporate Roundtable because we have found a group of thinkers, collaborators, operators, and clinicians all actively working on designing a better evidence-based model for our individual and collective national health," said Nudj Health Founder and CEO Yuri Sudhaker. "There's already evidence that a person's mental health and physical health, including chronic disease, bidirectionally influence each other to either worsen health risks or improve them. We give providers the ability to deliver continuous, whole-person care--combining mental, behavioral, social and physical health."
"Nudj Health understands the current healthcare delivery model, focused on treating medically ill patients primarily with medications and procedures, is not sustainable," said ACLM President Cate Collings, MD, MS, FACC, DipABLM. "Nudj wants to help providers address the root cause of disease and help them deliver whole-person lifestyle medicine at scale. We welcome them to our Corporate Roundtable."
ABOUT NUDJ HEALTH: Founded in 2021, Nudj Health, a lifestyle medicine company, serves as an extension of provider care, providing a tech-enabled service that integrates behavioral health treatment virtually with cardiology, oncology, and primary care providers nationwide to improve patients' mental health and social determinants of health, make lifestyle changes, and improve health outcomes. Based in Pasadena, Calif., Nudj Health has already integrated its service with several providers across the nation. Learn more at http://www.nudjhealth.com.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: ACLM is the medical professional society for those dedicated to the advancement and clinical practice of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable health care system. Lifestyle medicine is the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic intervention—including a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection—as a primary modality, delivered by clinicians trained and certified in this specialty, to prevent, treat, and often reverse chronic disease.
More than a professional association, ACLM is a galvanized force for change. ACLM addresses the need for quality education and certification, supporting its members in their individual practices and in their collective mission to domestically and globally promote lifestyle medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to a first option of treating symptoms and consequences with expensive, ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures. Learn more at http://www.lifestylemedicine.org.
Media Contact
Jean Tips, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 971-983-5383 x 119, [email protected]
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
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