From Your Health Journal…..”Today I found a great web site called EndoNurse, and I encourage all of you to visit this site to read the full article being reviewed here today, as well as some of their other incredible articles. The link below will take you there. The article discussed an interesting study which found that only 44 percent of primary care physicians reported success in helping obese patients lose weight and that primary care physicians identified nutritionists and dietitians as the most qualified providers to care for obese patients. This is such an interesting article, but I think most doctors can lead obese patients in the right direction if needed. The problem for the doctors is being consistent, as following up with obese patients on a regular basis could prove to be a task with a doctors busy schedule. Please, visit the EndoNurse page to read the full article.”
From the article…..
Your primary care physician may be your first choice for assistance with most health-related issues, but according a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, primary care physicians agree they may not be the best healthcare professionals to give weight related counseling. Researchers examined primary care physician perspectives on the causes of and solutions to obesity care and identified differences in these perspectives by number of years since completion of medical school.
They found that only 44 percent of primary care physicians reported success in helping obese patients lose weight and that primary care physicians identified nutritionists and dietitians as the most qualified providers to care for obese patients. The results are featured in the December 20, 2012 issue of BMJ Open.
“In order to begin improving obesity care, medical education should focus on enhancing those obesity-related skills primary care physicians feel most qualified to deliver, as well as changing the composition of health care teams and practice resources,” said Sara Bleich, PhD, lead author of the study and an assistant professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management. “With respect to training and practice-based changes, primary care physicians would like to see implemented, 93 percent reported that including body mass index (BMI) as a fifth vital sign would be helpful; 89 percent reported that including diet and exercise tips in patients’ charts would be helpful; 85 percent reported that having scales that calculate BMI would be helpful and 69 percent reported that adding BMI to patients’ charts would be helpful.”
Bleich and colleagues conducted a national cross-sectional survey of 500 general practitioners, family practitioners and general internists between Feb. 9, 2011 and March 1, 2011. Researchers evaluated primary care physician perspective on the causes of obesity, competence in treating obese patients, perspectives on the health professional most qualified to help obese patients lose or maintain weight and solutions for improving obesity care.
To read the full article…..Click here