As we celebrate the 5^th anniversary of VLM’s debut, I am pleased to report the evolution in clinicians supporting patients’ behavior change is accelerating.   New populations are being identified and funding models adopted.   Just in the last few months, we have had partners successfully recruit VLM users from Medicare beneficiaries, through an employee wellness program and in a rural healthcare provider’s office.  The success of these new strategies continues to show VLM works in more settings and with a larger variety of patients than ever before.

One of our long-term partners, Government Employees Health Administration (GEHA),  successfully recruited members covered by Medicare with only modest recruitment effort.  Early results on engagement with the program show the Medicare population will utilize the tool as much as the general patient population.  Stay tuned for more results from this population.

Indiana University Health - Healthy Rewards program, is offering VLM to employees through their health and wellness program.  In a recent survey, more than 75% of respondents reported losing weight and nearly 90% were still actively using VLM.  Even more encouraging, 85% said they would recommend VLM to a friend or colleague.  Really exciting stuff from employee wellness programs.

We recently deployed VLM at Post Rock Family Medicine, a rural healthcare clinic in Plainville, Kansas.  One of the lead physicians at Post Rock, Dr. Jen Brull, is excited to be offering VLM.  She feels that people in rural areas often face geographic barriers to accessing face-to-face health coaching.  "With the VLM Project, our patients will be able to learn healthy behaviors right from their own homes.”

As the industry continues to slowly evolve support for patients healthy behaviors, DPS Health will be searching for more forward-thinking partners that would benefit from offering VLM in their organization. I am excited to share the benefits of VLM with you.  If you feel the time is right, send me a note and we can schedule a brief phone call, or online demonstration.  Also, it would be a big help to me if you could refer any colleagues you think would want to learn more about how VLM could benefit their organization.

In good health,

Neal

P.S. - Over the last few months I have gotten a chance to present to a large number of front-line healthcare providers; nurses, dieticians, CDEs, ect.  As part of my presentation we conducted a survey on the benefits and barriers of coaching patients through an online behavior change intervention.  The results are quite fascinating.  They show the growing acceptance of technology in the industry but also highlight that there is still much work to be done before technology can truly allow a clinician to treat large numbers of patient, one at a time.

VLM is based on the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a weight management approach developed by the University of Pittsburgh faculty under a federal research grant from the National Institutes of Health. Through web-based technology, VLM delivers the DPP research-proven lifestyle intervention, aiming to enhance the efficiency and success of healthcare provider weight management programs. To create VLM, the University of Pittsburgh, along with DPS Health, worked to improve patient engagement through web- based learning, tracking, and motivation.