COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Padmaja Patel is a board-certified internist specializing in lifestyle medicine and healthcare transformation strategies. She currently holds the position of President-Elect at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and the Vice President role at the World Lifestyle Medicine Organization. In addition, Dr. Patel serves as Vice President of Midland Quality Alliance and the Chair of Quality Committee, an ACO-REACH located in Midland, TX and as a consultant for Texas Medical Board’s committee on Alternative Payment Models. She is also a member of the National Quality Forum's 2024 Healthcare Professional Stakeholder Advisory Council and the Endorsement and Maintenance Committee of the Partnership for Quality Measurement. Dr. Patel serves as the founding Chair of ACLM's Clinical Practice and Quality Committee.

Dr. Patel is a pioneer in the field of Lifestyle Medicine (LM) and has developed innovative care delivery models. Her work includes designing a physician office-based intensive cardiac rehabilitation program and serving as Medical Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Center at Midland Health. She has also held the position of lifestyle medicine Medical Director at Wellvana, a national value-based healthcare organization. Dr. Patel has successfully delivered LM-based ITLC programs for chronic disease remission in both in-person and virtual settings. She is a strong advocate for LM integration within health systems across the patient care continuum and in employee and population health. Her efforts to integrate lifestyle medicine into employee health have resulted in significant cost savings. Additionally, her work in population health helped move the county health rankings for Midland, TX, from #40 in 2016 to #27 in 2022. During her time with Wellvana, Dr. Patel designed LM care delivery models to integrate LM within ACOs and Medicare Advantage. Her contributions have been instrumental in advancing the integration of LM into healthcare systems and improving patient outcomes.