Treating obesity in a primary care

Abstract

The comprehensiveness of the current primary care setting is lacking, while typically treating acute or episodic conditions appropriately; A breakdown in the system occurs when treating more chronic conditions. As health-care costs continue to rise and outcomes within the USA are lacking, a cost-effective, comprehensive model of primary care is needed. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model includes the integration of psychological services to primary care teams to address the psychological, behavioral, and social factors contributing to increased medical utilization, decreased treatment adherence, and breakdown of communication between professionals. Considering that obesity is a prevalent medical concern within the USA, and is now a worldwide phenomenon, appropriate treatment of obesity within primary care settings is needed. Integration of psychologists to primary care teams has been shown to be efficacious in increasing patient and provider satisfaction, improved patient outcomes, and reduced overall medical costs. Furthermore, psychologists are well equipped to address emerging roles in primary care such as preventative programs, clinical consultation with primary medical teams, organizational functioning, as well as classic direct behavioral care, screening, assessment, and monitoring. Traditional medical and behavioral treatments for obesity are explored, as well as how the behavioral treatments available could be implemented in a PCMH setting and the expected benefits of doing so.