Conventional vs. Lifestyle medicine
Differences Between Conventional and Lifestyle Medicine
Conventional |
Lifestyle |
Treats individual risk factors | Treats lifestyle causes |
Patient is often passive recipient of care | Patient is active partner in care |
Patient is not required to make big changes | Patient is required to make big changes |
Treatment is often short term | Treatment is always long term |
Responsibility falls mostly on the clinician | Responsibility falls mostly on the patient |
Medication is often the “end” treatment | Medication may be needed but as an adjunct to lifestyle change |
Emphasis is on diagnosis and prescription | Emphasis is on motivation and compliance |
Goal is disease management | Goal is primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention |
Little consideration of the environment | COnsideration of the environment |
Side effects are balanced by the benefits | Side effects are seen as part of the outcome |
Referral to other medical specialties | Referral to allied health professionals as well |
Doctor generally operates independently on a one-to-one basis | Doctor is coordinator of a team of health professionals |
From Egger et al. Lifestyle Medicine. Sydney: McGraw-Hill, 2008: p 4
This page was last modified on January 21, 2016