Be part of an interdisciplinary society of doctors, allied health practitioners, public health professionals, health executives, educators and researchers advancing Lifestyle Medicine
Join us on the Gold Coast for a transformative one-day symposium, Beyond Prescriptions: Advancing Non-Drug Interventions and Team-Based Preventative Care, featuring expert presenters who will share practical strategies to integrate evidence-based lifestyle and behavioural approaches into patient care.
You are visiting the 2025 Lifestyle Medicine Roadshow – Gold Coast Event Program Page. Visit the Main Roadshow Event Page.
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Symposium 9:00am – 5:00pm | Networking Event 5:00pm – 6.30pm AEST
ASLM CEO Roni Beauchamp will officially open the symposium and introduce Professor Nicholas Zwar, who will deliver a welcome on behalf of Bond University.
Following this, Dr Sam Manger, GP and ASLM Vice President, will welcome delegates on behalf of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, setting the tone for the day’s theme and discussions.
Speakers:
9:30am – 9:50am | Dr Sam Manger: Beyond the Prescription Pad: Scaling Lifestyle and Non-Drug Interventions for Real-World Impact
Dr Sam Manger explores the powerful convergence of Lifestyle Medicine and non-drug interventions, drawing on insights from his work with the HANDI committee to showcase how evidence-based, low-risk strategies can transform clinical practice and chronic disease outcomes.
9:55am – 10:15am | Professor Paul Glasziou: Getting effective non-drug treatments into practice: the case of HANDI
Effective non-drug methods are less known, less promoted, and less used than their pharmaceutical cousins. Advances in non-drug treatments in the past few decades have been substantial and diverse: exercise for heart failure, COPD and cancer, salt substitution for stroke prevention, the Epley manoeuvre for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, exercise and cognitive therapy for depression (and almost everything else!), to name just a few. Indeed, nearly half the thousands of clinical trials conducted each year are for non-drug treatments. To make ‘prescribing’ a non-drug therapy almost as easy prescribing a drug, the RACGP has launched of the Handbook of Non-Drug Intervention (HANDI) in 2013. However, many barriers remain to making better use of effective non-drug treatments, including poor support for clinical trials, poor reporting of such trials, and better awareness and uptake by clinicians and patients.
10:15am – 10:35am | Dr Mina Bakhit: Empowering Patient-Clinician Conversations- Shared Decision Making & Lifestyle Medicine
This presentation introduces shared decision-making and explores how GPs can engage in open conversations with patients about all available options—including the choice of no treatment—using decision aids and other supportive resources. It also highlights how shared decision-making and motivational interviewing techniques work together to uncover patient goals, facilitate difficult conversations, and support lifestyle-focused alternatives aligned with individual values and clinical evidence.
Speakers:
11:30am – 11:50am | Dr Loai Albarquoni: Streamlining the prescription of evidence-based effective non-drug interventions in primary care: e-HANDI
e-HANDI, an electronic tool co-designed with consumers and general practitioners (GPs) that eases the prescription of effective nondrug interventions, allows GPs to audit their prescriptions, and remind patients to use those effective nondrug interventions. The talk will outline the process of codesigning the tool and the feasibility trial.
11:55am – 12:15pm | Dr Kuljit Singh: Social Prescribing – a pill for loneliness, longevity, and life!
Presentation on loneliness, social isolation, and social prescribing, including a synopsis of the recently launched WHO Commission for Social Connection.
12:15pm – 12:35pm | Prof Nicholas Zwar: Lessons from the WEAR-IT Study
Wearables Integrated Technology to support healthy behaviours in people with Type 2 Diabetes (WEAR- IT) study
Speakers:
1:45pm – 2:05pm | Dr Terri-Lynne South: The Power of the Multidisciplinary Team
My journey as a GP with a specific interest in holistic metabolic health and obesity management – exploring different models of care.
2:10pm – 2:35pm | Tracey Johnson: The Opportunities of Shared Medical Appointments
2:35pm – 2:55pm | Prof Lauren Ball: Springfield Healthy Hearts: A living laboratory for testing community and primary health care innovations
2:55pm – 3:15pm | Ruth Kent: A public health educator participating in a community-based, multidisciplinary pain management program
Speakers:
Join Dr Sam Manger, Dr Kuljit Singh, David Pointon and Kate Baggerson for a dynamic discussion on the power of community partnerships in transforming models of care. This session will explore how collaborative, community-based approaches are reshaping prevention, management, and wellbeing across diverse settings.
The panel will conclude with an interactive 15-minute Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to engage directly with the speakers.
Wrap up the Lifestyle Medicine Symposium with an informal networking evening. After a full day of insightful discussions and learning, take the opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, speakers, and industry leaders in a relaxed setting.
Guest Speaker: Dr Cam McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Health Alliance (15mins)
Attended the Gold Coast Symposium? Access your recordings here:
Missed the Symposium but want to catch up? Purchase access to the recordings here:
ASLM Vice President, GP, and Academic Lead for Lifestyle Medicine at James Cook University
Co-Founder & CEO of The Men’s Table
General Practitioner and Leader in Primary Care Research
“Beyond Prescriptions: Advancing Non-Drug Interventions & Team-Based Preventative Care” Symposium is an RACGP, ACRRM & AMA CPDHome approved CPD activity. It provides 8.5 hours of Educational Activities (EA) and 2 hours of Reviewing Performance (RP).
The symposium is also approved for 20 points in the ASLM Fellowship program and 8.5 hrs Attendance CPD towards ASLM Accreditation.
All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance.
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