Corewell Health is demonstrating just how important it is to address the root causes of chronic disease.
The Michigan-based health system released data this month showing that its partnership with Nudj Health is generating meaningful health improvements for chronic disease patients — including significant weight loss and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Nudj, a four-year old company headquartered in Pasadena, helps providers integrate “lifestyle medicine” into routine clinical care. Lifestyle medicine refers to the evidence-based use of interventions like nutrition, exercise and sleep to prevent, treat and sometimes even reverse chronic disease, explained Nudj CEO Yuri Sudhakar.
He pointed out that most patients with chronic diseases leave the doctor’s office with what he calls “the three P’s” — pills, procedures and pamphlets. However, their core risk factors — behavioral health and lifestyle choices — go largely unaddressed, Sudhakar noted.
“They’re maybe addressed in a conversation about needing to do these things better, but that’s about it,” he remarked.
Nudj is addressing this issue by integrating its lifestyle medicine model into clinicians’ workflows to extend care beyond the visit. Sudhakar said this model focuses on six pillars of lifestyle medicine: stress, mental health, exercise, nutrition, sleep and social/behavioral risks such as drinking alcohol or smoking.
Essentially, Nudj provides a virtual, interdisciplinary care team that works with patients between their regular visits to improve lifestyle and behavioral health factors that are often overlooked in traditional care. This care team typically consists of health coaches, dieticians, behavioral health specialists and group support.
These professionals collaborate with patients to incorporate healthier habits into their daily routines. For example, a health coach might hold a patient accountable to take a walk after work Monday through Thursday, or a dietician may help a patient create a healthy meal prep plan for the week.
Corewell physicians in specialties such as cardiology, primary care and bariatrics began referring patients to Nudj’s programs in 2023. More than 3,600 Corewell patients have been enrolled since then.
These patients either have chronic conditions like obesity, anxiety and depression, or are “just looking to lead a healthier lifestyle,” said Melissa Sundermann, Corewell’s medical director of lifestyle medicine.
Clinicians refer patients via Epic and Nudj takes it from there — enrolling patients into personalized programs, tracking outcomes in real time and keeping the referring clinicians looped in. Patients can pay for the program either through their insurance or a self-pay option.
Sundermann noted that the partnership allows Corewell to expand its lifestyle medicine services by giving patients virtual access to group activities — which she pointed out is an “important step” toward building a collaborative care model.
“Lifestyle medicine benefits Corewell Health and our patients by addressing the root causes of chronic disease, such as poor nutrition, physical inactivity, stress and substance use, through evidence-based interventions. Chronic conditions account for a large portion of healthcare costs, and this approach can lower costs by reducing the need for medications, hospitalizations and procedures,” Sundermann declared.
Corewell reported that its patients enrolled in Nudj’s programs saw a 44% reduction in depression scores, as well as a 39% drop in anxiety. The PHQ-9 was used to measure depression, and the GAD-7 was used for anxiety.
The health system also said that Nudj’s program spurred a 46% increase in patients’ exercise capacity. Patients’ initial average minutes per day of exercise was 28 minutes, which increased to 40 minutes, Sundermann stated.
The virtual lifestyle medicine program also resulted in 6% weight loss for enrolled patients, as well as a 9% reduction in their triglycerides and 7% reduction in total cholesterol. Patients had an average initial triglyceride level of 136 mg/dL, which fell to 123 mg/dL. Their average initial cholesterol level was 189 mg/dL, which dropped to 175 mg/dL, Sundermann shared.
She said that Corewell plans to promote Nudj’s programs to both clinicians and patients in an effort to expand its reach, praising the startup’s ability to “offer high-touch care and carve out the pathway that best works for the patient’s health goals.”
Photo: Halfpoint Images, Getty Images
