Notes From The Coach

The Personal Health Coach — an integral link between patient, doctor, and lab

By Dominique Adair, MS, RD, ACSM, NASM, Personal Health Coach, HDL, Inc.

Explaining labs, developing diagnoses, designing and communicating interventions is all in a day’s work. The HDL, Inc. Personal Health Coach, assigned to patients in your office or remotely (by phone), can augment their care significantly, at no additional charge to you or your patients. HDL, Inc. health coaches are registered dietitians, certified diabetes educators, registered nurses, and exercise physiologists with extensive experience in patient counseling.

HDL, Inc. has offered this service to MDs since they began identifying disease risk factors. These wellness professionals are trained to review the comprehensive lab panel with your patients, develop lifestyle interventions to reduce disease burden, and help them achieve optimal health outcomes. Research shows that working with a health coach can proactively impact patient health behaviors and improve compliance with medications along with therapeutic lifestyle interventions.

An HDL, Inc. health coach might provide live or telephone counseling sessions, group classes, individualized diet and exercise plans for weight control and cardiovascular risk reduction, and practical shopping/cooking education. Patients can see a health coach once or as desired for follow-ups. Like the HDL, Inc. advanced cardiovascular panel, the health coaches are customizable to your practice, to enhance self-management strategies in your patients and prevent exacerbations of chronic illness. To refer your patients to their health coach for a consultation, ask them to create a patient portal account at www.myhdl.com/hdlportal or call client services at 877-4HDLABS (1-877-443-5227).