Synthesis: Deriving a Core Set of Recommendations for Planning, Building, and Operating a Lifestyle Medicine Center

The purpose of Creating a Lifestyle Medicine Center: From Concept to Clinical Practice is to provide a resource for readers to implement knowledge in lifestyle medicine in the form of action within a Lifestyle Medicine Center. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize and analyze the findings in this book and then synthesize a set of core, actionable recommendations. Key mechanistic drivers of chronic disease and the corresponding roles of lifestyle medicine are presented. Thirty chapters in this book are examined, with primary findings and implications identified. These implications are then interpreted as phrases and then organized and analyzed according to three questions (represented as research, knowledge, and practice gaps) and three answers (represented as action stages in the creation of a Lifestyle Medicine Center: planning, building, and operating). Nine clusters of phrases in this 3 × 3 gap-action matrix are then used to formulate nine specific recommendations. These recommendations serve as starting points to inform leadership during the implementation process. Important aspects of these recommendations pertain to familiarity with implementation science, development of novel business plans and reimbursement strategies, awareness of ethno-cultural and socioeconomic sensitivities, and a focus on lifestyle modifiable behaviors and strategies. It is anticipated that as more Lifestyle Medicine Centers become successful and sustainable, healthcare can transform into a universally accessible and affordable vehicle to improve well-being for all.