Poster 44 – Weight Management in Primary Care: Development of a Data Driven Clinical Pathway

This project is a quality improvement activity that seeks to Review Electronic Medical Records (EMR) at a medium sized urban family medicine residency program to identify patients who have BMI above 25, who meet the criteria for obesity and obtain their primary care within this program. The aim of this quality improvement activity is to create a clinical pathway that incorporates both behavioral health intervention and medication management. 2,605 patient records were reviewed. Overall, we identified 768 patients as having class I obesity status (BMI range 30-35), 420 patients as having class II obesity status (BMI range 35-39), and 382 patients as having class III obesity status (BMI is 40 or higher). Based on a review of the literature, outcomes involving behavioral modification could potentially have an impact when utilized by patients who met the criteria for class I and class II obesity and had weight management goals in primary care settings. Considering the aim of this quality improvement activity for developing a clinical pathway that incorporates both behavioral health intervention and medication management, the primary care partner was identified to include and identify opportunities for efficient medication management as a part of clinical treatment pathway within primary care set up. Analysis of the following objectives will help us develop a comprehensive treatment pathway. 1. Identify patients who meet the criteria for Class 1 Obesity 2. Identify demographic variables of the patient population 3. Identify co-morbid conditions: chronic medical and behavioral health 4. Identify the use of medication management 5. Identify the potential role of behavioral interventions