Experts Gather to Educate Healthcare Providers about Obesity

This column is dedicated to providing information on the medical management of obesity, which includes diet, exercise, behavioral change, and medication.

Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, Medical Bariatrician/Certified Medical Obesity Specialist/Co-Medical Director, Scottsdale Weight Loss Center PLLC, Scottsdale, Arizona

Wendy Scinta, MD, MS, FAAFP, Medical Director, Medical Weight Loss of NY, BOUNCE Program for Childhood Obesity, Fayetteville, New York; Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York

This month: Experts Gather to Educate Healthcare Providers about Obesity

by Rachel Nevers

Rachel Nevers is Communication Coordinator for the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, Aurora, Colorado.

Bariatric Times. 2015;12(6):21.

The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) hosted its annual spring conference, Obesity Medicine 2015, in Denver in April 2015. Denver is home to many leading experts, medical professionals, and researchers in the field of obesity medicine, and the conference lineup of speakers included many local experts as well as national leaders in the field.

More than 500 physicians and health care providers from around the world came to Denver to learn about the latest scientific research, evidence-based methods, and treatment approaches in the field of obesity medicine.

For the first two days of the conference, attendees chose between Obesity Medicine Essentials and the Nutrition and Metabolism Symposium. Topics during these days ranged from business practices—opening an obesity medicine clinic, attracting patients, and coding for obesity—to nutritional approaches for treating diabetes.
The next three days of the conference focused on educating providers about a variety of topics related to the care and treatment of patients affected by obesity. Experts covered everything from pharmacotherapy and optimizing drug combinations to motivational interviewing and eliciting behavior change during the Spring Obesity Summit.

Highlights from the conference
Obesity Medicine Essentials. In response to feedback from members, ASBP delivered a how-to course about insurance coding for obesity. Dr. Jeremy McConnell (Tampa, Florida) educated attendees about the coding and documentation requirements mandated under the Affordable Care Act and the Medicare Intensive Behavior Therapy for Obesity program. He also taught attendees how to effectively use preventive care billing codes and how to efficiently manage billing in a busy practice setting.

Nutrition and Metabolism Symposium. The great nutrition debate happened in Denver as advocates for the low-carbohydrate diet approach engaged in a lively panel discussion with advocates for the low-fat diet and calorie-restricted diet about which approach works best for the treatment of diabetes. As for who won, that’s still to be determined by each individual patient.

Spring Obesity Summit. With four anti-obesity medications receiving approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the last three years, attendees valued the discussions by Drs. Louis Aronne (New York, New York), Daniel Bessesen (Denver, Colorado) and Barry Braun (Fort Collins, Colorado) about prescribing medications as part of a comprehensive and personalized treatment plan. Each of the FDA-approved drugs is also described in the Obesity Algorithm®, which Dr. Harold Bays (Louisville, Kentucky) overviewed during the opening keynote lecture of the summit.

Order Content From the Conference
Recordings of all three sessions at Obesity Medicine 2015 are available to order online at http://www.asbp.org. The Obesity Algorithm is available as a free download online at www.ObesityAlgorithm.org and for purchase as a printed booklet from http://www.asbp.org.

Annual Fall Conference: OVERCOMING OBESITY 2015
ASBP will host its annual fall conference, Overcoming Obesity 2015, in Washington, DC, from September 30 to October 4, 2015. This conference offers different content from that of the spring conference. The Obesity Medicine Certification Review Course will take place September 30 to October 1, 2015, and the Fall Obesity Summit will follow October 2 through 4, 2015.

The Obesity Medicine Certification Review Course, offering up to 13 CME, helps prepare those planning to take the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) certification exam. Attendees can expect to learn material that may be covered on the exam, which takes place in December. More information about the certification exam is available at http://www.abom.org.

The Fall Obesity Summit, offering up to 17 CME, will enhance learners’ knowledge about the latest trends in the field of obesity medicine. Attendees can expect to learn about a variety of topics related to obesity medicine, including scientific research, evidence-based treatment approaches, emerging technologies, and clinical and practical methods used by obesity medicine specialists.

Register online for Overcoming Obesity 2015 at http://www.Overcoming-Obesity.org.

About the American Society of Bariatric Physicians
ASBP is the leading association for physicians and other health care providers dedicated to the comprehensive medical treatment of patients affected by obesity and associated conditions. Many member physicians hold certification from the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Learn more about ASBP at www.asbp.org.

Acknowledgment
ASBP thanks Bariatric Times for being the exclusive media sponsor of Obesity Medicine 2015 and Overcoming Obesity 2015.

FUNDING: No funding was provided for this article.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES: Ms. Nevers reports no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.

Tags: obesity

Category: Medical Methods in Obesity Treatment, Past Articles