In Harvard Medical School's Institute of Lifestyle Medicine's online program to teach physicians the basics of health coaching, the virtual patient is a doctor himself, explains Dr. Edward Phillips, founder and director of the institute. Physicians who have completed this training say the background enhances their relationships with patients and relieves stress, since it helps them accept that they are not directly responsible for patients' poor health choices. Dr. Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School where the institute is based, hopes this subject will one day be covered thoroughly in medical schools. And his message to health plans seeking improved health coaching outcomes: engage the physician in the process, because as the person "sitting knee to knee" with the patient, the physician is ideally positioned to help the patient process all health messages. Dr. Phillips, along with Margaret Moore, CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation, and Dr. Rick Botelho, professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center described how health plans and disease management companies can enhance physician involvement in health coaching during a May 15, 2008 webinar, Driving Improvements in Health Coaching Outcomes Through Physician Collaboration and coordination.