Table 5.
General impact of certifying body for lifestyle medicine.
| Instructions: In considering the following statements, please keep in mind that the ABLM, established in 2015 as one of approximately 200 independent, medical certifying bodies in the United States, has certified (through 2021) about 1800 US physicians and over 1200 physicians in 72 countries. In contrast, the ABMS, established in 1933, provides board certification in the US for 24 member boards, the last of which, medical Genetics, was added in 1991 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement (Respondents, N = 351) | Likert category, % | Agree, % (Response, mean) a | ||||
| Agree (strongly) | Neutral | Disagree (strongly) | Not ABLM certified b | ABLM diplomate | P-Value c | |
| Certification of physicians in LM by the ABLM is sufficient to promote LM as part of mainstream medicine (n = 344) | 54 (15) | 19 | 28 (3) | 55 (2.60) | 53 (2.64) | .695 |
| Certification of physicians in LM in the future by ABMS, instead of ABLM, is needed to promote LM as part of mainstream medicine (n = 333) | 64 (27) | 22 | 14 (2) | 51 (2.51) | 72 (2.09) | <.001 |
| Recognition of LM as an ABMS member board (e.g., a distinct medical specialty) is necessary for LM to be recognized by mainstream medicine as valid and important, at the same level as other ABMS medical specialties (n = 341) | 77 (33) | 14 | 9 (2) | 71 (2.23) | 80 (1.89) | <.001 |
| Patients and other consumers of LM will care significantly as to whether a physician is certified in LM by the ABLM or by the ABMS (n = 344) | 32 (11) | 23 | 45 (11) | 29 (3.19) | 34 (3.08) | .357 |
| Insurers, health systems, and other purchasers of LM will care significantly as to whether a physician is certified in LM by the ABLM or by the ABMS (n = 322) | 71 (29) | 19 | 11 (3) | 65 (2.28) | 74 (2.05) | .038 |
| Insurers, health systems, and other purchasers of LM will significantly increase reimbursement for LM services if a physician is certified in LM by the ABMS instead by the ABLM (n = 307) | 52 (16) | 29 | 20 (5) | 42 (2.69) | 57 (2.48) | .029 |
Abbreviations: ABLM, American Board of Lifestyle Medicine; ABMS, American Board of Medical Specialties; LM, lifestyle medicine.
aAgree percentage includes “agree” and “strongly agree” responses; mean is from 1 (agree strongly) to 5 (disagree strongly).
b37% of respondents identified as not certified by ABLM; 63% identified as diplomates of ABLM.
cIndependent-samples Mann–Whitney U test.