Physicians are uniquely positioned to counsel patients regarding sun-protective behaviors. Thus, a medical school curriculum that includes education about the sun's effect on health is needed for the prevention and early recognition of skin cancer in future patients.
Preventable and reversible chronic diseases affect millions of Americans, costing the United States billions of dollars annually for treatments that slow the trajectory but fail to address the root cause of illness. Lifestyle medicine is efficacious, and research has shown that this medical approach garners a significant return on investment in the treatment of many chronic diseases. To obtain an overview of successful reimbursement and practice models used by practitioners, American College of Lifestyle Medicine members were invited to participate in an online survey regarding their experience with lifestyle medicine services and reimbursement models. Three hundred and fifty-one respondents with diverse practice structures, geographical locations, and educational backgrounds completed the survey. The results demonstrate that practitioners are utilizing a variety of lifestyle medicine programs and reimbursement and practice models. Seventy-four percent of respondents are currently providing lifestyle medicine, though the majority do not receive reimbursement for their services. This study provides examples of successful lifestyle medicine reimbursement and practice models, as well as demonstrates the need for continued advocacy for sustainable reimbursement of lifestyle medicine services.
BackgroundDiabetes in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and the people of Appalachia have been disproportionately affected by this disease. Strategies that complement standard diabetes care are critically important to mitigate the risk of complications, reduce health expenditures, and improve the quality of life of patients living in rural Appalachia. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative process evaluation of a patient navigation program for diabetes after its first year of implementation.MethodsThe process evaluation assessed how the Diabetes Navigation Program was delivered as well as how it was experienced by the navigators, providers, health administrators, and office staff at an endocrine specialty center in rural Appalachian Ohio. We employed total population sampling to conduct in-depth, face-to-face interviews with all providers, health administrators, staff, and navigators at a Diabetes Endocrine Center. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed via content and thematic analyses using NVivo 11 software.ResultsSeventeen individuals (providers n = 5, health administrators n = 4, office staff members n = 3, and navigators n = 5) participated in in-depth, face-to-face interviews (age = 44.7 ± 11.6 years, 82.4% female, 94.1% white, 13.3 ± 9.6 years work experience). Fidelity of implementation: The navigation team carried out most of the activities denoted in the Work Plan, therefore the program was implemented somewhat successfully. Qualitative analysis revealed three themes: 1) The navigator addresses sources of health disparities: All participants described the role of the diabetes navigator as someone who is knowledgeable about diabetes and able to identify and address health disparities. 2) The navigators are the eyes in the community and the patients’ homes: Navigators offered providers and clinic staff a rare glimpse into the personal lives of patients, which led to the identification of unrecognized barriers. 3) Difficulties with cross-system integration of services: Differences in the organizational culture and vision of the specialty center and navigation office contributed to systemic barriers.ConclusionsOverall, this process evaluation highlights the importance of coordinating providers, health administrators, medical office staff, and navigators to address barriers to diabetes care. Forthcoming research is needed to document the clinical effectiveness and sustainability of the Diabetes Navigation Program in rural Appalachia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.