Lifestyle Medicine: A UPMC Conversation

Grant Application

Michael Parkinson, MD, of the UPMC Health Plan

 

Proposed Innovation

Chronic diseases are the leading contributors of premature death and rising health care costs in the United States, despite the fact that 70 to 90 percent of conditions — such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer — are preventable.

Funds for this project will be used to support a one-day UPMC Conversation that will bring together critical University of Pittsburgh and UPMC leaders and stakeholders — along with national thought leaders — to discuss the emerging science and practice of lifestyle medicine. Participants also will explore ways of supporting patients in adopting healthy behaviors proven not only to prevent, but also to treat and reverse chronic diseases.

 

Improvements in Action

Guest speakers for the event will include David Katz, MD, MPH, president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and Director, Yale Center for Prevention Research, and Craig McDougall, MD, Practice Lead, Zoom+Prime; Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, Chief Medical Director, Executive Director Global Health and Wellness; Joon Lee, MD, UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute; and Michael Parkinson, MD, Senior Medical Director, UPMC Health Plan. The goal is to introduce the UPMC and University of Pittsburgh communities to the science and practice of lifestyle medicine and examine ways to become a national leader in health care transformation.

 

Results — In Progress

The UPMC Conversation is expected to create an open forum for dialogue that will increase awareness of chronic diseases prevention, treatment, and reversal through healthy behaviors, emerging models in this rapidly evolving area, and resources available for a concerted and coordinated approach to promoting lifestyle medicine. The desired long-term vision is to position UPMC as a national leader in the practice, teaching, and research of lifestyle medicine.