Comprehensive Care and Weight Management: A Winning Combination
Comprehensive Care and Weight Management: A Winning Combination
by Julie Adams, RD
Obesity is the most prevalent chronic disease in our country. Yet, persistent challenges stand in the way of providing optimal care. According to the Obesity Care Model Collaborative (OCMC), a committee of obesity and quality improvement specialists, many health care providers are not equipped to provide evidence-based medical, nutritional, and behavioral health treatments to manage it.
Recognizing the complex nature of obesity and current challenges to provide care, OCMC gathered medical groups and health systems from across the country to share best practice strategies. This resulted in a comprehensive “playbook” of guidelines to improve the quality of obesity care. The research article, “Measuring What Matters: Beyond Quality Performance Measures in Caring for Adults with Obesity,” highlights key factors from these guidelines. The authors stress the importance of designing a program with operations and competent professionals to provide comprehensive care, resources and education that empower patients to understand their condition and make lifestyle changes.
“At the care level, health care professionals from different specialties, including counseling on nutrition, physical activity, and stress management, is an effective strategy to address chronic diseases such as obesity. This approach was followed by one of the health care organizations participating in the collaborative, with positive results.”
Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health was built on this premise since its inception. CGH’s team of doctors, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, behavior health and physical therapy specialists is committed to addressing the root of our patients’ health issues, tackling it from all sides. To learn more about Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health’s collaborative approach to weight management and gastrointestinal health, please call 224-407-4400, or email [email protected].
For additional reading on OCMC’s Obesity Care Model Playbook, please see:
https://www.amga.org/…/collaboratives/obesity-care-model/
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/pop.2020.0340