The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has announced that a set of lifestyle medicine assessment tools have been integrated into Epic’s EHR software. The lifestyle-related resources will become accessible to anyone using the most updated version of the Epic software.
The new tools include ACLM’s lifestyle medicine short form assessment tool, a clinical survey to capture patient lifestyle behaviors and readiness for change; ACLM’s Diet Screener, which helps clinicians quickly capture a picture of a patient’s diet during routine medical appointments; the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) tool recommended by the Physical Activity Alliance for assessing physical activity in adults; as well as additional tools to capture lifestyle behaviors and opportunities for change.
ACLM notes that therapeutic lifestyle interventions have been under-utilized due to factors such as educational gaps, misaligned payment and incentives, systemic barriers and time constraints. However, assessment offers clinicians the opportunity to initiate meaningful conversations around lifestyle behavior, measure progress and recommend evidence-based lifestyle interventions as part of a care plan.
“As a leader in lifestyle medicine and clinical informatics, I am thrilled to see the integration of lifestyle surveys into our EHR system,” said Medical Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at North Carolina-based ECU Health David Michael, M.D., in a statement. “This advancement will empower us to shift from reactive ‘sick’ care to proactive ‘health’ care, leveraging new data at the point of care. The combination of available data on lifestyle opportunities, the ability to measure them over time, and the emerging power of artificial intelligence will revolutionize team-based primary care. This focus will enable patients to recognize and make healthier choices, significantly reducing the burden of chronic diseases.”
“It is so important that we can have standardized measures for assessment in EHRs to support clinicians, improve patient care and health outcomes, supplement our national surveillance systems and continue to research the importance of lifestyle behaviors for treating, reversing and preventing disease,” said American Heart Association National Vice President of Policy Research and Translation and Senior Strategic Advisor to the Physical Activity Alliance Laurie Whitsel, Ph.D., in a statement.
ACLM said that healthcare organizations can work with their Epic analysts to access the lifestyle assessment tools.
“Epic is proud to partner with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to deliver high-quality tools, including collaboratively developed assessments,” said Epic MyChart Quality Manager Luke Eberhardy, in a statement. “These resources will empower clinicians to better understand patients’ status across key lifestyle pillars. This, in turn, will help create informed, personalized plans to maintain or improve overall health and well-being for many patients.”