NICE-Accredited Commissioning Guidance for Weight Assessment and Management Clinics: a Model for a Specialist Multidisciplinary Team Approach for People with Severe Obesity

Richard Welbourn, John Dixon, Julian H. Barth, Nicholas Finer, Carly A. Hughes, Carel W. Le Roux, John Wass, on behalf of the Guidance Development Group

Research output: Contribution to journalReview ArticleResearchpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite increasing prevalence of obesity, no country has successfully implemented comprehensive pathways to provide advice to all the severely obese patients that seek treatment. We aimed to formulate pathways for referral into and out of weight assessment and management clinics (WAMCs) that include internal medicine/primary care physicians as part of a multidisciplinary team that could provide specialist advice and interventions, including referral for bariatric surgery. Using a National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE)-accredited process, a Guidance Development Group conducted a literature search identifying existing WAMCs. As very few examples of effective structures and clinical pathways existed, the current evidence base for optimal assessment and management of bariatric surgery patients was used to reach a consensus. The model we describe could be adopted internationally by health services to manage severely obese patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)649-659
Number of pages11
JournalObesity Surgery
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bariatric surgery
  • Clinical pathways
  • Obesity management
  • Service access

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