Wellness Coaching Helps Kaiser Patients Meet Their Goals

A wellness coaching program at Kaiser Permanente is helping patients stick to their healthy lifestyle changes and lose more weight than patients who don’t participate in the program. Patients who’ve set personal weight loss goals can participate in the program, which pairs patients with health professionals who provide accountability and expertise in over-the-phone coaching sessions.

Researchers knew from survey results that patient satisfaction with the wellness coaching program was high, and they wanted to see how effective it was. They compared data in Epic for 20,000 patients with weight loss goals and found that, on average, patients who picked up the phone to participate in at least one voluntary coaching session lost a more clinically significant amount of weight (about 10 pounds each) compared to those who didn’t. That 10-pound loss is a huge win for patients who need to lower their risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, as even minor weight loss has long-term health benefits.

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