by James W. Saxton, JD; Maggie M. Finkelstein, JD;
and Susan Gallagher Camden, RN, MSN, PhD

Both from Stevens & Lee, Lawyers and Consultants

This third installment of our newest Bariatric Times column serves to answer all of your legal, managerial, treatment-related, and universal bariatric questions. Keep in the loop simply by reading your fellow bariatric professionals’ questions and our experts’ answers in the coming issues, or by sending in your own inquiries involving issues in your bariatric practice.

We are really interested in creating a customer-centered practice. Can you give one example of a bariatric surgery program that provides a high level of customer service?

Read the rest of this article »

by Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP,and Kathy Keenan Isoldi, MS, RD, CDE

Dr. Aronne is Former President of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has authored more than 40 papers and book chapters on obesity, and edited the National Institutes of Health Practical Guide to the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. He is a consultant to the VA Weight Management/ Physical Activity Executive Council. Kathy Keenan Isoldi, MS, RD, CDE, is Coordinator of Nutrition Services at The Comprehensive Weight Control Program, New York, New York. Ms. Isoldi has been counseling adult and pediatric clients seeking weight management for the past 19 years. She is currently a doctoral candidate at New York University.

Read the rest of this article »

by Carol Bradley, RN, CS, MSN

From the Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Orvis School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada

Address for correspondence:
Carol Bradley, RN, CS, MSN, Saint Mary’s Center for Health, Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, 645 N Arlington Ave., Suite 200, Reno, NV 89503; Phone: (775) 770-3174; Fax: (775) 770-6908; Email: carol.bradley@saintmarysreno.com.

Background

There is increasing consensus that bariatric surgery is superior to medical intervention for long-term weight loss in morbidly obese persons.[1] Most postoperative patients are able to lose a significant amount of weight, profit from reduced or resolved comorbidities, and have an improved quality of life (QOL).

Read the rest of this article »