In episode 14 we’re joined by Dr. Mark Stoutenberg from the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise is Medicine initiative. This conversation is at the very intersection of the Wellness Paradox as it discusses how we integrate physical activity assessment and intervention into clinical workflows for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. In essence, it is the integration of fitness and wellness professionals into the healthcare delivery system (in other words, our holy grail).
The ASCM has been hard at work for years trying to make exercise a first line treatment for chronic lifestyle disease such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic pain syndromes. As self-evident as the concept of exercise is medicine is, implementation at a large scale is difficult due to multifactorial challenges. Limitations in reimbursement, clinician time, and lack of cost effectiveness data have slowed the propagation of this important initiative.
As we’ll discuss in this episode, we must come together as a fitness and wellness community. We must emphasize with clinicians, insurers, and the public the important role exercise as medicine can play in addressing the chronic burden of disease. We must choose this as our line in the sand as fitness and wellness professionals. The fate of our public health and our economy hang in the balance.
OUR GUEST: Dr. Mark Stoutenberg, Ph.D., MSPH
Mark Stoutenberg is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Kinesiology Department at Temple University. Mark earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology (2008), a Master’s in Public Health (2011), and was a faculty member in the Department of Public Health at the University of Miami (2011-18). His research experience involves the examination of exercise interventions in different populations, such as untrained, inactive adults, breast cancer survivors, and individuals with substance abuse disorders. His current work explores how aspects of implementation science can be used to further the integration of physical activity in health care settings and the utilization of referral networks that link patients to community resources.
Mark has served as a Program Officer with the EIM team since 2013. He helps coordinate the international expansion of the EIM Global Health Network and EIM Learning Research Collaborative, the development of clinical and community tools, the integration of physical activity into health professional training programs, as well as supports several EIM committees.