COMPARE
Patient Education and Health Coaching
The NIWH 3-in-1 Whole Health Education® training is
accredited by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence
This 3-in-1 training significantly sets our program apart from traditional health coaching programs. Ten outstanding Whole Health Coaching courses are provided which are applied in the Case Study portion of the program. Visit our Whole Health Coaching™ page for more details on the Whole Health Coaching courses.
In addition to the added professional skills and knowledge, there is a greater investment value realized over traditional coaching training. A Whole Health Education professional enjoys a wider range of opportunities than is possible through the current Health Coaching trainings. The chart below shows how they differ and answers the question often asked: “Why become credentialed in the NIWH 3-in-1 Whole Health Education® training, instead of doing a traditional Health Coach training program?” This is a vital question for anyone pursuing a career in this field to explore. Understanding the difference can have substantial consequences on the services you can provide to your clients, your scope of practice, your professional credentials and your income!
Patient Health Education, Patient Advocacy & Whole Health Coaching |
Health Coach Training |
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|---|---|---|
| Definition | Society for Public Health Education says: A Health Educator “promotes, maintains and improves individual and/or community health by assisting individuals and communities [through evidence-based health information] to adopt healthy behaviors.” | International Coaching Federation says: A coach “partners with individuals in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” |
| Prerequisites | NIWH applicants must have a verified professional license or education credentials that meet national standards. | Anyone can call themselves a Health Coach without any training or credentials. |
| Comprehensive Learning | 400 hours which includes evidence-based, whole person focused Patient Health Education, Patient Health Advocacy and Whole Health Coaching skills & training. | Typically 30-60 hours of Coaching skills training which does not include evidence-based patient health education or advocacy training. |
| The Five Aspects of Health & Disease | Whole Health Education programs provide the Five Aspects of Whole Health ™ which delivers demystified patient health information and self-directed disease prevention. | Health Coaching programs do not provide health education course content to address patient health recovery or disease prevention. |
| Professional Liability Insurance | Whole Health Education graduate is qualified for professional liability insurance as a patient health educator. | Professional liability insurance is not always available for health coaches due to the lack of prerequisite requirements. |
| Health Insurance Billing | Whole Health Education graduate can receive an NPI number as a patient health educator for insurance billing and coding. Medical providers can bill for patient educator’s services. | A health coach training does not qualify for billable and reimburseable coaching services. Medical providers cannot bill for coaching services as these services are not paid for by insurance companies. |
| Chronic Care Professional Certification | NIWH graduate can test-out for the national Chronic Care Professional Certification, a nationally recognized and endorsed Disease Prevention & Population Health credential. | A health coach certificate alone does not qualify to test-out for the national Chronic Care Professional certification. |
| Health Care Provider | Credentialed patient health educators are recognized health care providers. | Health coaches are not credentialed as health care providers. |
| Use of Billing and Coding Manual | Credentialed Whole Health Educators receive expert-prepared Billing and Coding Manual to provide services and coded receipts for their patients. | Health coaching is not an insurance billable service. Mental health counseling or patient education may be called health coaching by some insurance networks, but is neither and does not qualify for payment. |
| Healthcare Specialty | Patient health education is a long-standing regulated and recognized health care specialty. NIWH Whole Health Training is professionally recognized Institute for Credentialing Excellence and ANCC accredited patient health education program. | Health Coaching is not a professionally accredited specialty. The various health coaching certification program are not accredited by a national accrediting body. Only Life, Leadership and Executive Coaching are regulated by the ICF. |
| Answers to Patient Questions | Whole Health Education® answers the four most important questions all patients want answers to. | Health Coaching answers only one or two of the important questions all patients want answer to. |
NIWH provides the whole package for success – whether in private practice or in partnership within a medical practice. Billing and Coding expert guidance, practice building, professional networking, and success mentoring are all available to NIWH learners and graduates from initial enrollment to graduation and beyond!
All learners, past and present, are part of the Whole Health Family and Community at NIWH and are always welcome to participate in all Whole Health offerings. We want you to succeed! Coaching skills are valuable tools for anyone to use in both their professional and personal lives.
Coach training can aid in transforming poor communication into excellent communication. In 1980, NIWH developed and researched the first Health Coaching communication model, Behavioral Engagement with Pure Presence (BEPP).
BEPP is a component of Whole Health Education – the first patient health education model developed and researched in clinical settings. In addition to BEPP, NIWH Whole Health Training provides demystified, whole-person health information which includes both medical and alternative self-care options.
Comment by a recent NIWH graduate:
“Coming from a Health Coaching background, I found that there was something missing when trying to assist individuals with making a sustainable behavior change. Through my experience with the program at the National Institute of Whole Health, I was able to identify what that missing piece in Health Coaching was. The courses provided the education needed to be able to supply evidence-based health information to patients, and the case study portion of the program helped facilitate the personal WHY for change in patients. This was the missing piece, that each patient find the “why” they need to change. The program taught me how to assist patients in finding their individual why so that the changes can be sustained for a lifetime.”
Judith Brinn, BS, CHHC, certified in Pediatric Obesity
In 1998, Whole Health Education was named a Best Practice in Relationship Centered Care by a Boston area Harvard affiliate hospital, which opened a department of Whole Health Education to empower and serve its out-patient population. Research and utilization of Whole Health Education and BEPP continues today, with a ground-breaking collaborative research agreement between NIWH and Michigan State University medical school.
NIWH Whole Health Education trained Whole Health Coaches come away with much more than traditional health coaching skills. They learn urgently needed health information to empower their patients to take control of their health and their lives. They also earn additional provider credentials as a patient health educator, certificates as a Patient Health Advocate and as a Whole Health Coach.
